# How Jalen Hurts checked to a touchdown

> A 43-yard score that sealed Week 1 looked illegal to Washington, and the tape explains why it wasn't.
- Title: How Jalen Hurts checked to a touchdown · PhillyVoice
- Summary: A 43-yard score that sealed Week 1 looked illegal to Washington, and the tape explains why it wasn't. The play was legal. Goedert's late lateral slide just…
- Keywords: eagles, nfl, dallas goedert, jalen hurts, film study, news, local, Jalen, Hurts, checked, touchdown, PhillyVoice
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/examining-questionable-dallas-goedert-touchdown-reception
- Published: 2026-09-14T14:36:48.892+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: eagles, nfl, dallas goedert, jalen hurts, film study, news, local
## The play that sealed it
Philadelphia beat Washington 24-22 in Week 1, and the biggest offensive snap was a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Dallas Goedert.
## Washington cried foul
The Commanders complained about the play as it happened. The Washington Post later called the touchdown "questionable."
## Two seconds on the clock
Hurts killed the called play with just two ticks left on the play clock and checked to something else, leaving no time for the usual reset.
## Goedert slides sideways
As the check came in, Goedert moved laterally toward the sideline. That is legal, but with the snap right behind it, the motion read like a flinch.
## The line reacted, legally
Mailata pointed. Dickerson, Steen, and Johnson all looked to Cam Jurgens for the adjustment. Jurgens pointed too, then snapped it. All of it within the rules.
## Why it looked wonky
Normally the line adjusts, resets, then runs the play. Hurts killed it so late that the sequence collapsed into one blur and Washington got caught off-guard.
## Defenders pointed, not covered
On the end zone view, linebacker Sonny Styles points at Goedert as if to say he can't do that, while Goedert runs straight past him. Oweh and Chenal do nothing.
## Looking for a flag
On the All-22, Rasul Douglas hunts for a penalty and jogs toward Goedert. He only starts chasing once he realizes the play is live. Both safeties are asking for flags too.
## Goedert explains the freeze
Two plays were called in the huddle. Hurts killed the first one late, and Goedert slid as the snap count started. He expects to be told to stop doing it.

> It seemed like the defense kind of froze their feet for a second and it played to my advantage
## He checked to a touchdown
Credit goes to Hurts for the right call under an expiring clock and to an offense that stayed on the same page. Jurgens summed it up in four words.

> That's football. He checked to a touchdown.
## Key takeaway

The play was legal. Goedert's late lateral slide just looked enough like a false start to freeze a defense that never got the memo.