Analysis of seismic reflection data reveals the existence of a major listric fault that accommodates most of the Neogene extension of the Laguna Madre-Tuxpan shelf of the western Gulf of Mexico. The variation of related growth strata, the profile of the modern shelf-slope transition, the linear gradient of shelf extension (as well as basin accommodation) along the trace of the fault support a hypothesis that sediment loading along the northern part of the fault drives fault motion and influences sediment distribution along the southern end of the fault. In particular, where kinematic accommodation appears to outpace sediment supply, sedimentation is maximized along a shelf-ramp system and not the shelf-slope transition.