Only one thing can stop the Philadelphia Eagles "tush push." Jason Kelce was the culprit on Monday night.
Kelce committed a penalty that significantly impacted the Eagles on their unstoppable play. The Eagles All-Pro center moved the football forward prior to the play and was called for a false start penalty with the Eagles holding a 7-0 lead in the second quarter and facing a third-and-1 at the Seattle Seahawks' 3-yard line.
The "tush push" was there and the drive was going to be extended. Kelce did the one thing he couldn't do, and was caught.
Kelce called for a false start here. #PHIvsSEA pic.twitter.com/2eXIRY5NBH
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 19, 2023
"Obviously the false start on me in the red zone hurt really bad," Kelce said, via a team transcript. "We were up at that point. I take that one really personally because it was stupid on my part. There's always a lot of points in the game that ultimately culminate into deciding the outcome. We had our opportunities and didn't quite do enough."
Moving the ball forward isn't new for Kelce, who admitted he's done that in the past and has been notified by the officials of his transgressions. Clay Martin and his crew were looking for it.
"They've been warning me about that for years," Kelce said. "I think when you're trying to get a forward lean, and I've had a tendency to do that in the past, so they definitely warned me before.
"I think I've just got to be smarter, especially in that situation. I think if that's a full yard to gain, probably not as much, but because it was so short, the fact that I moved it at all was being called. I've just got to be smarter than that."
There was no need for Kelce to move the football forward on a play that is essentially automatic for the Eagles and Jalen Hurts. That mistake was part of the miscues the Eagles have to clean up.
The Eagles lost 20-17. That penalty essentially cost Philadelphia four points.
"Obviously your job as a veteran is to continue to just push and work and get guys focused on preparing and getting better and blocking out a lot of the outside stuff," Kelce said. "We had our opportunities today. This one's tough. It's a very tough game to lose.
"A lot of implications involved in it. So a frustrating day to say the least. But all you can do is move forward and play the next one."
