The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals was under fire on Thursday evening following a contentious penalty that infuriated spectators. The NFL officials called the Steelers for a false start on their try at a “Tush Push” play.

A tactic that has become highly popular with the Eagles, rarely ever received such reactions from the refs. The move incited immediate outrage all over social media, leading to the renewed debate about the NFL’s erratic refereeing regarding the questionable quarterback sneak strategy.

As Andrew Fillipponi of @937thefan wrote on X, ”Eagles jump like this on every tush push. Never gets called. Steelers do it. There’s yellow flags everywhere. NFL get a clue!”

The penalty came at the worst possible time in the first half, as the Steelers were trying to extend their lead on the Bengals. The officials’ call was compared instantly to the Eagles, who have run the same play dozens of times without penalty. Recently, Philadelphia had four in a row “Tush Push” attempts against the New York Giants and got no call. However, they failed to win against them.

Deeper in the Giants’ red zone, the Eagles did their quarterback sneak with linemen and pushers providing heavy push on quarterback Jalen Hurts, four consecutive times. Before that, the Chiefs were victims of the Eagles ‘tush-push.’ Chris Jones, defensive tackle of the Chiefs, called them out for this, too. “We think he jumped multiple times,” Jones said. “The official didn’t see it, so it wasn’t called. We just got to go play the next down.”

Injuries have been a rallying cry for arguments to outlaw the play altogether. The Green Bay Packers first raised the proposed ban during the offseason, citing player safety as the primary argument. The motion came close to passing, 22 of 32 teams voted to outlaw it, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

Despite the vote’s collapse, the majority of the league believes that the play’s risk of injury and potential for officiating inconsistency make it a persistent problem for the NFL. Even Micah Parsons, who recently got poked in an eye and popped a blood vessel on a play that didn’t draw a penalty, said that he hates tush-push.

“S–t, if you ask the Eagles’ offensive players, they’ll probably say, ‘That’s the best thing we’re doing on offense right now,’” Parsons said. “It’s the most consistent thing they’ve got. That might come [back] and bite me one day. It is what it is. I hate that play… you can’t stop it if they’re leaving early.”

So, in either event of the Eagles, the play succeeded and remained unpunished. But this time around with the Steelers, the flag was waved by the referee, altering the game and fueling new indignation from players and fans alike at inconsistent enforcement.

Fans erupt over NFL refs’ tush-push call

As soon as the flag was tossed, social media went wild. Fans felt that the Eagles have been able to master and take advantage of the play without penalty.

“They never call the Eagles for that!” a recent X post said. Indignation is a constant feeling that the Eagles get away with a play.

”They called a false start on the tush push?!?! Wow.” one fan posted in shock. Another compassionate one posted, ”It has happened: The #Steelers tried a tush-push and got hit with a false start.” Most fans spoke of the hypocrisy, posting, ”Called on every other team not named the Eagles” and ”WHOA A FALSE START ON A PUSH PLAY”

One very well-shared remark put it best: ”I don’t watch the Eagles, but I guarantee they can false start with 5 players and it’s ok.” Another chimed in, calling for the NFL to act: ”Call it on that team that does it 10 times a game next!!”

The Eagles’ “Brotherly Shove” is an emblem of Philadelphia supremacy. The play is nearly indefensible. Philadelphia’s success rate in this play is nearly 96 percent, the highest in the league.

On the other hand, the NFL Competition Committee reviewed the play but decided to leave it unchanged, at least partly because it remains legal under the current rules. However, the flag thrown on Pittsburgh Thursday night highlighted the inconsistent way officials are enforcing those same rules during games.