The Philadelphia Eagles won their Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the win may have been overshadowed by a controversy over the team’s signature play.
The Eagles ran their “tush push” quarterback sneak several times, with quarterback Jalen Hurts surging — and being shoved — forward in short-yardage situations. But replays showed that the Eagles were consistently lining up offside and jumping to an early start, getting ahead of the snap and pushing back Chiefs’ defenders.
The series of plays has led to a furious backlash and calls for the NFL to crack down on how the play is officiated.
NFL Fans Angry Over Missed Calls
The Eagles converted several short quarterback sneaks in the 20-17 win, giving a key advantage as they pushed the Chiefs to 0-2 for the first time since 2014 — and the first time in the career of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Replays showed that the Eagles’ offensive line — sometimes the entire right side — got a significant jump before the ball was snapped. Chiefs coach Andy Reid tried pleading his case to officials during the game, but they were not swayed and the Eagles continued to run the play with some obvious false starts.
Many called on the NFL to crack down on the penalties, calling it tighter in the future.
“The false starts that happen on that play EVERYTIME is insane. Just a bad product,” wrote NFL reporter Cole Carmody in a post on X.
“These are obvious false starts, either call the play right or ban it,” wrote another account on X dedicated to critiquing NFL officials.
The Fox Sports broadcast of the game also called out the blatant missed calls, with NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino expressing frustration over how difficult the play is for officials.
“I am done with the tush push, guys,” he said. “It’s a hard play to officiate like we’ve been talking about.”
Chiefs Have Fallen in Early Hole
The controversy over the missed calls on the “tush push” may be little consolation to the Chiefs, who find themselves in an early hole in the AFC West and the conference as a whole. The Chiefs didn’t lose their second game until Week 18 last season, when they had already clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, but have already dropped their second of 2025.
The Chiefs are now two games behind the Buffalo Bills, last year’s No. 2 seed and a perennial playoff opponent, and face a difficult stretch ahead that includes games against the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions.
After Sunday’s loss, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he failed to get the team properly prepared.
“I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” Reid said.
Hurts also gave credit to the entire Eagles team, saying they played together to overcome a desperate Chiefs team.
“That’s a really good team. We have a ton of respect for them,” Hurts said. “You have to come in with a sense of focus. Stay patient with yourself. Stay patient with your team. And as a team, we showed up when we needed to the most.”