The Washington Commanders kickstarted their NFL season on Sunday evening with a divisional Week 1 showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.
It also marked wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ debut with the Commanders after he signed with the franchise in early August following a season with the New England Patriots.
Diggs Scores First TD With Commanders
While Washington trailed 17-9 in the second half, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with Diggs on a 10-yard touchdown reception.
However, Diggs decided to celebrate by jumping on and hugging the goalpost, which instantly drew a flag from the referee.
This put the Commanders in a position where they likely wouldn’t be able to try a two-point conversion to tie the game because the penalty carried a 15-yard penalty, making the extra point 48 yards.
Commanders score TD…
want to go for 2 to tie game…
but Stefon Diggs jumps on goal post, gets a 15-yard penalty and Washington has to kick XP
idiotic pic.twitter.com/4HytuNNUDW
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 13, 2026
Why Did He Receive a Penalty?
The NFL is usually fairly lenient when it comes to letting players celebrate. However, the league does not allow players to use anything as a prop, and that includes the goalpost.
That means players cannot jump on the goalpost, dunk a football through it, or do anything else of that nature without instantly receiving a 15-yard penalty, which is exactly what Diggs decided to do.
It’s a safety concern in the eyes of the league after former tight end Jimmy Graham, back in 2013, dunked the ball over the goalpost and ended up tilting the post off balance, which led to a 20-minute delay.
Why Did Stefon Diggs Get a Penalty for Jumping on the Goalpost?