IRVINE, Calif. — If there were ever a time for the New Orleans Saints to break out the Tush Push, then that moment presented itself in Sunday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Saints faced fourth-and-goal from the 1. From the same spot last season, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scored 12 of his 14 rushing touchdowns on the Tush Push — the NFL’s most controversial play that involves two blockers shoving the quarterback from behind to help push across the pile. Saints coach Kellen Moore was involved in it all, serving then as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator.
But against the Chargers, there was no such push of a tush.
Not on fourth down — which ended up as a 3-yard loss for running back Kendre Miller — or any of the other short-yardage situations the Saints faced throughout the game.
“We haven’t practiced any sneak components or any of that stuff,” Moore said.
Moore has been tight-lipped on whether the Saints will attempt to run the Tush Push, also known as the “Brotherly Shove,” this year. At the NFL owners’ meetings in March, Moore said he wasn’t sure if New Orleans had the personnel to properly execute the play. And on Tuesday, when asked again about his intentions, Moore offered only a “we’ll see” before noting the Saints “aren’t there yet” on any such decision.
But talk to anyone from the Eagles — including the contingent who followed Moore from Philadelphia to New Orleans — and they’ll stress that the Tush Push is much more complicated than it seems. To execute it correctly, there’s a level of precision that teams must master — and it takes time to hone the proper techniques. It’s why, they argue, the Eagles run the play better than anyone else, and why attempts to ban the play unfairly target the franchise.
If the Tush Push does involve such detail, and the Saints have yet to practice those details, then perhaps that reveals more about their plans than anything said in a press conference.
“Anybody can replicate it,” said Saints run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti, who had been with Philadelphia since 2013 before joining New Orleans this offseason. “It takes practice. We have a saying that, ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks one time. I fear the man that’s practiced one kick 10,000 times.’
“That’s a good Bruce Lee quote, and it has relevance to that play. If you’re going to hang your hat on that, then you’ve got to do it over, over and over again.”
The Tush Push itself evolved over its time in Philadelphia. Although Philadelphia began running the play consistently in 2022, two years before Moore's arrival, the origins of the look date back to a year earlier. In Week 5 of the 2021 season, tight end Jack Stoll ended up pushing Hurts from behind on a quarterback sneak for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. Then, in Week 11, coincidentally against the Saints, tight end Dallas Goedert motioned before the snap to line up behind Hurts in an I-formation and shove Hurts for the first down.
From there, the play exploded. Since 2022, according to ESPN, the Eagles have had an 85.2% conversion rate on Tush Push and have run it, by far, more than any other team. When not run by the Eagles or the Buffalo Bills (second in Tush Push attempts), the league conversion average falls to 71%.
Stoll, now with the Saints, said there’s a “night and day difference” in terms of how the technique used for the play has changed. In a copycat league, not everyone has been able to grasp it.
“It’s not that simple,” Stoll said. “You can take the scheme, but unless you have all the details of certain plays, it doesn’t always work. It is cool to be part of something like that.”
Stoll said that if the Saints do want to run the Tush Push eventually, the team has the advantage of having run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti on staff. Paganetti not only worked closely under Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, but Stoll said Paganetti can help teach the details so that everyone can be in unison.
Paganetti and Stoll agreed that if the Saints were to commit to the Tush Push, investment in the play is critical. Stoll said that when he was in Philadelphia, the Eagles wouldn’t have many plays baked into the game plan for third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 because everybody understood that they’d run the Tush Push — including the other team.
“It breaks teams’ wills, if you do it (correctly),” Paganetti said.
The biggest unanswered question is whether the Saints have the personnel to execute the Tush Push successfully. The Eagles have one of the largest offensive lines in the league, a key to generating the strength needed in the trenches. Hurts’ exceptional leg strength is also notable, with the quarterback able to squat 600 pounds.
The Saints have size in the trenches: Their starting offensive line combines to weigh 1,583 pounds — only 63 pounds lighter than the Eagles’ projected lineup. But the Saints have yet to name a starting quarterback, and it’s unclear which of Spencer Rattler or Tyler Shough would be better suited for a sneak.
Still, Saints players at least appear curious about the play. Stoll said he’s heard teammates express interest, especially given Moore’s history and his track record of helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl.
At a recent practice, the Saints had a play in which the runner was ruled down just short of the goal line. Kicker Blake Grupe just happened to be mic’d up for a video that would later be posted on social media.
“Tush Push!” Grupe chanted. “Tush Push! Tush Push!”