With their recent three-game skid, the Philadelphia Eagles are slowly approaching meltdown mode, and Jason Kelce is taking part of the blame.
Whew, boy. Philly sports fans have to be heated little cookies right now. Despite having a 10-4 record, the Eagles have now lost three games in a row. That tumble includes a heartbreaker from the Seahawks on Monday that ended with Drew Lock yelling NSFW things at a camera after a game-winning touchdown. PAIN.
In the midst of the chaos was an ill-timed penalty by center Jason Kelce. The Eagles were in the red zone and approaching a potential Tush Push touchdown when Kelce was flagged for a false start.
Kelce called for a false start here. #PHIvsSEA pic.twitter.com/2eXIRY5NBH
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 19, 2023
The penalty backed the Eagles up, stalling the drive and forcing them to take a field goal. It also wiped away points that they could have used after ultimately losing 20-17.
After the game, Kelce owned up to the penalty. Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, the All-Pro center explained why it was so costly:
“They’ve been warning me of that for years,” Kelce said. “I had a tendency to do that in the past so they’ve definitely warned me before. I’ve got to be smarter, especially in that situation.”
Kelce said that because it was third-and-inches, the officials weren’t going to tolerate him moving the ball forward at all, as that would be basically moving the ball across the line to gain. Kelce thinks that if it hadn’t been such a short-yardage situation, the officials would have let it go.
Yet, the officials weren’t the only ones who have been in on Kelce’s tendencies for quite some time now. The NFL’s analytics department knows as well. WOOF.
The referees aren't the only ones who noticed the edge Jason Kelce gives the Eagles on the Brotherly Shove👀
HT/@TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/mTx78q40QH
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 19, 2023
