Many who watched Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles learned an NFL rule so obscure it’s never been called before. A “palpably unfair act,” conduct so egregious that it could result in automatic points for the opposition. In this case, a touchdown without a touchdown. It seemed from the Commanders’ repeated attempts of jumping offsides to stop the Eagles’ unstoppable Tush Push. While most had no idea of the rule, Bill Belichick did. And he learned it from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Discussing Sunday’s quirky moment, Belichick shared the story of how he learned it was in the rulebook many years ago.