Jalen Hurts appeared to fumble during an attempted Tush Push against the New York Giants. NFL officials ruled the play dead on forward progress even though the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was very clearly not down.
Add it to the list!
The National Football League has not yet decided to ban the Tush Push even though there seems to be a new controversy every week. First it was player safety, then it was false starts, now it is forward progress.
Jalen Hurts fumbled.
This specific play in question took place during the first half. Philadelphia lined up in Tush Push formation on 4th-and-1 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Hurts took the snap and charged straight forward. Two additional offensive players tried to get him the first down with an additional boost from behind but he was stopped short on the first attempt.
The 223-pound quarterback did not stop driving his legs, readjusted his body to the left side and extended the ball beyond the line to gain. The Eagles absolutely got the first down.
However, the ball was knocked loose as Hurts crossed the line. He was not down.
THIS IS A FUMBLE BRO!!!! THIS IS GIANTS FOOTBALL!!!! pic.twitter.com/p1SzzFcCgv
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 26, 2025
New York very clearly recovered what appeared to be a fumble. It should’ve been a turnover.
NFL referees ruled forward progress.
Even though Hurts very clearly coughed up the ball before the play was blown dead, officials ruled that his forward progress was already stopped before the fumble. The fumble did not count.
Philadelphia got a fresh set of downs.
We have seen calls for the Tush Push to be banned because of player safety. We have seen calls for the Tush Push to be banned because it is such a hard play to officiate.
This is a new one. This does not fall in either category. The NFL preemptively ruled the play dead and cost the Giants a turnover. It begs a new question…
At what point is the play dead? What is forward progress?
The league will need to provide those answers and make changes accordingly. Otherwise, the Tush Push is quite literally unstoppable. All Hurts needs to do is extend the ball past the first-down marker.