Eagles players left confused after meeting with refs on new helmet rule

Several members of the Philadelphia Eagles said they were frustrated and confused after meeting with referees about a new rule that penalizes players 15 yards for lowering their head to contact an opponent with their helmet.

For the meeting, the NFL put together a presentation that included videos with examples of illegal hits under the new rule. However, some of the players believed a number of the violations appeared to be regular tackles, and added that they didn't receive much clarity during a question-and-answer session that followed.

"We were trying to ask questions to get a better understanding, and yet they couldn't really give us an answer," linebacker Nigel Bradham said to ESPN's Tim McManus. "They couldn't give us what we were looking for."

In their search for answers, the players showed the referees video of Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins delivering a devastating hit to New England Patriots receiver Brandin Cooks in Super Bowl LII, which knocked the latter out of the game, but avoided penalty or further sanction. However, the refs were apparently split on whether the play would be considered illegal under the new rule.

"I'm going to make that play 10 times out of 10. If it's a flag, it's a flag," Jenkins said. "You can't slow yourself down thinking about rules in a split second. The game happens really, really fast, faster than the rules, I think, take account for, but I won't let it affect the way I play."

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson apparently disagreed with his players' contentions.

"It's been well-communicated to us, and it's our job to communicate to our players these rules," he said.