Jason Kelce isn’t mincing words. The former Philadelphia Eagles center is diving into the latest NFL firestorm. He is taking aim at frustrated rivals. He is also tackling the league's most polarizing play. The tush push debate is back. And this time, it is louder than ever.
Imagine a play so powerful it feels like a baseball team always bunting with the bases loaded. It is a guaranteed run. The Eagles have turned this short-yardage weapon into an art form. But against the New York Giants, this art caused a messy controversy. The resulting uproar has prompted Kelce to speak his mind.
Kelce addressed the incident on his "New Heights" podcast with his brother Travis. He did not defend the call. Instead, he questioned the logic of blaming the play itself. He argued the officials simply made a mistake, something that happens on all types of plays, not just the tush push. His most pointed comments, however, were for the fans.
“I also like... one of my favorite things about the whole thing is Giants fans being livid at the officials tweeting at me,” Jason Kelce said. “I'm like, 'Y'all are getting your a--es whipped. What the fu-- you talking about the official?'” For him, focusing on one bad call in a blowout loss is like complaining about a single strike in a no-hitter. You are missing the bigger picture.
Now, the controversy ignited on a critical fourth-down play. Jalen Hurts fumbled during the push. Kayvon Thibodeaux recovered for the Giants. However, the officials ruled Hurts' forward progress was stopped. The play was dead. Giants coach Brian Daboll’s futile challenge cost his team a timeout. Then the Eagles scored a touchdown just two plays later. And this swing was massive.
***"Like, I don't know what the hell you're... What game are y'all watching? How about you yell at your safety for not fucking tackling? What are we talking about the officials for? I was just blown away,"***Kelce added. "I was like, 'Listen, you can complain about the officials when your team is kind of keeping it close, but when you're getting your ass whipped, let's be a little...'"
Kelce also pointed out the core issue. The call was wrong, but the mechanism of the play was not.
The Jason Kelce Perspective
“It's a fumble. Like, they missed it... Like listen, I know everybody wants to get in the tush push,” Kelce said. “Again, I don't see how this has anything to do with the tush push. Officials miss forward progress calls all the time.” Banning the push does not eliminate human error on the part of the referees. Kelce presented a clear, player-informed viewpoint.
He acknowledged one valid reason for a ban. “If the tush push truly is hard to officiate, that would certainly be a reason to ban it,” he stated. However, he immediately questioned that premise. Would a traditional quarterback sneak have been officiated differently on that same play? "It'll still be an issue if the Eagles run a quarterback sneak. Like, that's my one caveat to it. If you allow offensive linemen to false start, they're going to do that whether there's people pushing the quarterback or not," he added.
Kelce has also highlighted the selective outrage. “I also haven't seen the struggling to officiate it with other teams running it,”he told USA TODAY Sports. “The Eagles aren't the only team that run it, but very coincidentally I often see only the Eagles being brought up online.”His point resonates. Success seems to be the real crime here.
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The tush push’s future is now in serious doubt. The league’s owners will likely vote on a ban next offseason. They fell just two votes short last time. A blown call of this magnitude provides powerful ammunition for the ban’s proponents. For now, Philadelphia keeps the cheat code. Hurts lowers his shoulder, Jordan Mailata shoves, first down. Repeat until confetti.