The Tush Push, or Brotherly Shove, has become one of the most polarizing plays in football. Popularized by the Eagles with Jalen Hurts at quarterback, it’s essentially an enhanced quarterback sneak that had many other teams in the league crying foul to start with.
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During Tush Push, Hurts takes the snap, the offensive line drives forward, and one or two players behind him push from the back to gain those last crucial inches. The results speak for themselves.
In 2024, the Eagles converted 39 of 48 attempts, an astounding 96.6% success rate, for either first downs or touchdowns. That efficiency powered them to another Super Bowl appearance and ultimately the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LIX. Now, other teams are catching on, too.
Buffalo leaned on its variation of the sneak against the Chiefs on Sunday. Josh Allen powered in for two short rushing touchdowns, pushing his career total to 79, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. That prompted former Eagle Jason Kelce to call out the Chiefs for not playing the Tush Push.
“Everybody in the league is running the Tush Push to some degree now. Other than the Chiefs, which you guys need to,” Jason said passionately. “I’m telling you for your f***ing good. It’s a cheat code. Do it while they let you.”
Jason’s comments came in the aftermath of Kansas City’s 28–21 loss. It was a game where the Chiefs failed to convert multiple red-zone opportunities, including one sequence near the goal line before halftime.
“Here’s the reality. That play before half, we gotta be able to tush push that thing in,” Jason continued. “They got two tush pushes. We need to get Noah Gray or somebody over there to get the tush push down. You can’t go into halftime only getting three points because you don’t f***ing got a tush push in the goddamn play.”
Critics call it “unfair” or “ugly football,” but Jason sees it differently. During the NFL owners’ meeting earlier this year, he defended the play vigorously. He argued that it’s not a gimmick, it’s execution, leverage, and teamwork. His lobbying helped prevent a proposed league-wide ban, keeping the play legal for the 2025 season.
While it’s true that most NFL teams have tried to replicate the Tush Push, few have matched Philadelphia’s success. The Giants, Bears, and 49ers have attempted their own versions with mixed results.
Even power-running teams like the Ravens and the Bills, with Josh Allen’s sheer strength, rely on modified sneaks rather than the full Brotherly Shove formation.
