The Philadelphia Eagles’ “revolutionary” Tush Push play is starting to (rightfully) ruffle a lot of feathers around the NFL.
Any time Philadelphia faces a third or fourth and short, they usually resort to having two players line up behind Jalen Hurts on a quarterback sneak before both help push the quarterback past the sticks.
The use of the play was particularly egregious against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football when Philadelphia used it to effectively ice a 31-17 win in the fourth quarter. It essentially eliminated all drama of what was building up to be a classic primetime affair. And the more the Eagles utilize the play (that is cheap and antithetical to the sport’s spirit), the more fervor seems to grow around the NFL to find a way to ban it in the offseason.
After the Eagles’ victory, head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the league potentially banning the Tush Push. He leaned on the fact that seemingly only the Eagles can do it well (false) and even broke the fourth wall to tell everyone that reality:
“People can’t do it like we can do it.”#Eagles coach Nick Sirianni with a passionate defense of the Brotherly Shove, noting one of the cold, hard facts: Few other teams can do it. pic.twitter.com/NcTArwCN71
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 23, 2023
Sirianni does have a point, but I have a feeling his pleas won’t amount to anything. (Also, it places players in an unsafe position in an already extremely dangerous game, and the Eagles aren’t that much better at it than everyone else. They just use it more.)
The Eagles are kind of exploiting segments of the NFL rulebook by continually using the Tush Push. It is simply a variation of the “assisting the runner” penalty, which most pro football officials don’t usually call — because it’s really difficult to judge — but they should start. No one is technically “pulling or carrying” Jalen Hurts for first downs, but it is tantamount to the same effect. If the NFL doesn’t ban it, they will almost certainly start making it a point of emphasis next fall with something like the “assisting the runner” call as a basis.
This is football, folks, not a rugby scrum.
If Hurts is so strong in short yardage the way Sirianni and anyone in Philadelphia claim, perhaps he and the Eagles should just learn to do regular quarterback sneaks like everyone else. It has nothing to do with the Eagles’ proficiency at it. It’s a loophole that shouldn’t exist.
This was how Twitter reacted
If Nick Sirianni was the coach of any other NFL team I would absolutely hate him but boy was he made for Philadelphia https://t.co/g1mCrnMt3k
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) October 23, 2023
This is why I get mad every time people just suggest it like it’s easy. Jalen Hurts lower body strength and natural ability as a runner is so understated in the equation. https://t.co/U3AGaK89Bi
— Darren (@spknreal) October 23, 2023
This is just not true. The Eagles percentage on running this play is only a little higher than the NFL average. https://t.co/97j2D0uyd8
— Jackson Krueger Sports (@jacksonkrueger) October 23, 2023
The league will ban this when he realises they can gain 4 yards at a time and run clock https://t.co/FSbEv6Ontf
— JL (@Lynch19955) October 23, 2023
This guy might be Philly’s perfect coach. Literally staring into the camera talking smack after a big win. https://t.co/kDz8e3NPLl
— Ian Martin (@ibmartin) October 23, 2023
I wonder if the forward pass got this much “this isn’t how football was meant to be played” feedback at the water cooler or whatever people did back then. @LesBowen? https://t.co/xR86tQDXrt
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) October 23, 2023
Gang everyone can do it. Obviously helps to have an elite center but it’s not a difficult play. https://t.co/fpa55NdQTA
— Ken (@Kendrvck) October 23, 2023
Idk why this is an argument. No point in banning it. It’s a legal move https://t.co/nNXJLT9qBf
— sosa (@hatearthursmith) October 23, 2023
And because of that very reason, it will be outlawed in 2024. https://t.co/IDJ4WTtoQH
— Dustin Jacobs (@dustinajacobs) October 23, 2023
