Defending the Tush Push is a near impossible task for defenses, especially against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Washington Commanders were tasked with trying to keep Jalen Hurts out of the end zone during the fourth quarter of the NFC championship, but were flagged for three consecutive encroachment penalties while trying to time the snap from the center.

Commanders safety Frankie Luvu tried to channel his inner Troy Polamalu by diving over the line in order to make a big play in the backfield. Somewhat embarrassingly, he messed up the timing on his first attempt and ended up soaring over the line before the ball was snapped. He then proceeded to make the exact same mistake on the next play.

Jonathan Allen then jumped early on the next play, prompting officials to throw their third consecutive flag for encroachment and warn the Commanders that continuing to commit such penalties would result in them awarding the score to Philadelphia. They weren't forced to make a decision in that regard, as Hurts scored a touchdown on the next play.

Here's a look at the entire bizarre sequence:

"Washington has been advised that at some point the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again. For now, it's a replay of second down," said referee Shawn Hochuli.

The NFL rulebook states, "For successive or repeated fouls to prevent a score: If the violation is repeated after a warning, the score involved is awarded to the offensive team."

Had the Commanders committed another encroachment violation, officials would've been able to award the Eagles a touchdown. That wasn't necessary, however, as Hurts pushed his way into the end zone on the next play.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Refs Nearly Awarded Eagles a TD After Commanders' Disastrous Attempts to Stop Tush Push.