The Eagles had considerable success running the “Tush Push” in their 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, using it twice in crucial moments: first to score a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave them a 20-10 lead, then again to secure a game-sealing first down in the final minutes. ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter said the owners’ decision not to ban the play contributed to the Chiefs’ loss and could affect more games in the future.
Schefter elaborated on his statement during his appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Monday morning.
“The biggest thing here to me is that this game was lost in March,” Schefter said. “This game was lost when the NFL owners refused to ban the tush push from happening. It wasn’t lost yesterday. It was lost in March, and there might be a lot of games that the Eagles play that are lost in March because this play is unstoppable.”
Schefter added that the play has become difficult to stop because the Eagles have not only mastered it but are getting away with infractions such as lining up offside and moving before the ball is snapped.
“Not only does the defense not know how to handle it, but even the officials don’t even know how to handle it. You’re seeing the Eagles linemen jump offside every play, and nothing is called. The officials have no idea, defenses have no idea, and the Eagles get to do whatever they want on every single play in the tush push. I know people hate it, but they have mastered it and they have dominated the line of scrimmage.”
The Eagles have been perfecting the quarterback sneak variation since head coach Nick Sirianni’s arrival in 2021, with the team adding the “push” element where teammates shove the quarterback forward during the 2022 season. The play has become quarterback Jalen Hurts’ signature short-yardage weapon, with the team converting at an exceptionally high rate.
When the owners met during the annual league meetings in March, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Sirianni were among those in the Eagles organization who lobbied other owners to keep the short-yardage play. The Green Bay Packers initially proposed the measure to ban the play, calling for a rule to make pushing a player illegal and citing player safety concerns.
However, 22 teams voted in favor of banning the play, including not only the Chiefs but also other AFC and NFC contenders, including the other three teams in the NFC East who have struggled to stop it. The measure fell two votes short of the 24 needed to adopt a rule change.
The discussion most likely will continue in Week 3 when the Eagles face the Los Angeles Rams, another team that voted to ban the play, Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
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