The “Tush Push.” The “Brotherly Shove.” Whichever phrase you use for the Philadelphia Eagles’ infamous short-yardage play could soon go the way of the Dodo.
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Reports emerged Monday afternoon that one NFL team – later revealed as the Green Bay Packers – submitted a proposal to ban the infamous play. The “Tush Push” has essentially served as an automatic conversion method for the Eagles and Buffalo Bills. The two teams have picked up a first down or touchdown on 87% of their “Tush Push” attempts since 2022.
ESPN’s NFL Live crew debated whether the potential “Tush Push” dismissal has merit. In former safety Ryan Clark’s opinion, teams need to put up or shut up.
“How soft do you have to be? ‘Oh, we can’t stop it’… shut the hell up and bow your neck. Somebody get physical and stop the play… the Kansas City Chiefs went into the AFC Championship game with an actual plan… to stop Josh Allen… [to] be like, ‘oh, instead of actually coaching, let’s run away from coaching and try to outlaw this play’ is dumb and soft.” – Ryan Clark
The NFL’s other 30 franchises have succeeded on 71% of their “Tush Push” tries. However, according to ESPN, they’ve run the play just 153 times. Meanwhile, The Eagles and Bills have combined to attempt it on 163 occasions. This differential impacted Mina Kimes’ thoughts on the matter.
Mina Kimes: “Other teams should compete more” with Tush Push
The Eagles have a 39-12 regular season record over the past three seasons. They’ve appeared in two Super Bowls and captured one Lombardi Trophy in that stretch. The Buffalo Bills, across the same time frame, are 37-23 in the regular season.
There’s no disputing it: where the Tush Push has been used prolifically, positive results have followed. For this reason, Kimes thinks the NFL’s other franchises should collectively invest in the Tush Push, not distance themselves from it.
“Teams should compete more, honestly. There’s a number of reasons why Philadelphia is so good at the Tush Push… they have an incredibly strong quarterback in Jalen Hurts. They have a huge, physical, strong offensive line… [and] they practice it constantly. There’s a level of attention to details that [has] been worked out… too many teams aren’t even attempting to do it.” – Mina Kimes
Obviously not every team boasts a quarterback with Jalen Hurts’ or Josh Allen’s physical abilities. That doesn’t mean they can’t employ the Tush Push, though. The Baltimore Ravens utilized it multiple times with tight end Mark Andrews taking the snap. Adaptations like these may be the key to the greater usage of the play across the league that Kimes desires.
