The referees in the NFC Championship Game nearly awarded Philadelphia a free touchdown on the goal line after excessive penalties from the Washington Commanders.

Early in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia had possession of the ball at Washington’s 1-yard line following a Saquon Barkley run stopped just shy of the end zone. The Eagles, known for their short-yardage efficiency via the famous “tush push,” lined up in formation to punch it in. Washington was able to stop the first attempt, leading Philadelphia to line back up in formation.

Washington then drew three consecutive encroachment penalties on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Two such penalties were given to Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu, who got caught multiple times attempting to leap over the line of scrimmage to stop a quarterback sneak. Luvu was issued a warning that his next encroachment penalty would result in unsportsmanlike conduct. On the next play, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was the one who drew an encroachment penalty trying to time the snap.

Full sequence of how the latest Jalen Hurts rushing TD went down. pic.twitter.com/VR6ABLgKmh

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While the Eagles punched it in on their fifth straight attempt (and fourth straight from second-and-goal at the 1), official Shawn Hochuli announced that the referees had the power to simply award Philadelphia the touchdown.

“Washington has been advised that at some point, the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again,” Hochuli announced on-mic to the stadium. “For now, it’s a replay of second down.”

Hochuli is citing Rule 12, Section 3, Article 2 of the NFL Rulebook, dubbed “Fouls to Prevent a Score.” The rule, which has yet to be implemented in the modern NFL, states that “The defense shall not commit successive or repeated fouls to prevent a score.” The penalty states that if the violation occurs following a warning, the score involved is awarded to the offensive team. In this case, the Eagles would have been given a free touchdown.

The rule’s enforcement was not needed, as the Eagles were able to score on their fourth consecutive second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Still, the NFL’s fans are now privy to one of the weirdest rules in the league’s lengthy rulebook.

(Photo: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)