Commanders warned referees can 'award a score' after 4 penalties near goal line in loss to Eagles

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— which earned them a caution from the referee; the official stated that the Eagles could be awarded a touchdown if it happens again.

The Eagles had a first-and-goal as they attempted to build on their lead in the fourth quarter of the NFC championship game on Sunday.

Commanders' defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was called for lining up in the neutral zone. That was the first penalty. Washington's defense then stopped Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on 1st down. However, on 2nd down, linebacker Frankie Luvu was penalized for jumping over the Eagles' offensive line, which is against the rules. They were stopped again, and it's 2nd and goal once more. Luvu jumped over the line again, and this time he was flagged for encroachment. Now it's still 2nd and goal for the Eagles again.

At that point, referee Shaun Hochuli had seen enough already.

"The referees have been warned that giving a score in this situation would be appropriate if they see it happen again," he told the crowd.

After the game, an NFL official explained to a journalist covering the game that which incidents during the game would have led him to call a touchdown.

Basically, a team can't commit multiple fouls just to stop the other team from scoring. So, Luvu jumped the ball a couple of times, which led to a warning. Again, if the goal is to avoid a score at all costs, we might award the score anyway.

The Commanders stayed onside on the next play, and Hurts rewarded the Eagles with a 1-yard touchdown, putting the Eagles ahead by 18 points, 41-23.

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