Not many plays in the NFL are unstoppable, but there is one that the Eagles use that is pretty close. The ‘Tush Push,” as it is affectionally called, is impossible to stop.
If it’s one yard or less, more than likely, the Eagles are using a quarterback sneak with a little push from behind.
Last season, the Eagles ran 41 QB sneaks, and Philly converted 37/41(90%). Again, that play is pretty much impossible to stop.
According to CBS Sports, Philadelphia’s success marked the first time in 15 years a team has topped 20 first downs on quarterback sneaks,
In their win over the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday night, Hurts scored two touchdowns using the ‘Tush Push.’
As they continue to prepare for their road game against the Buccaneers on Monday night, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the play’s origin.
“It works, and we just keep doing it,” Sirianni said on Saturday. “I don’t remember if we saw this — I know Reggie Bush did it to Matt Leinart a long time ago, right, in Notre Dame versus USC. There is not a rule against it, so that’s what we do.
“I don’t know what the origin is except for when it works; we just keep rolling with it.”
Many think it’s the push that makes it impossible to stop; however, Sirianni says it’s more than that.
“Yeah, not everyone has [C] Jason Kelce, [G] Landon Dickerson, [C/G] Cam Jurgens,” Sirianni said. “Not everybody has [T] Jordan Mailata. Not everybody has [T] Lane Johnson on the other side. Not everybody has that type of quarterback.
“We noticed that last year when people were making maybe some big deals about it. There are a lot that are unsuccessful. You guys know who the teams were that were, and I don’t know exactly the teams that were successful and the teams that weren’t successful.
“But there is clearly a talent to it that our guys have because it’s not as — maybe it’s automatic right now for the Philadelphia Eagles, but it’s not automatic around the NFL, which is where you get — when you hear about it; obviously I get prepped for these things, and I hear about — Bob [Lange] will prep me for questions like this…
“Now, we did a lot of studies on everything in the off-season to help ourselves be even better at it, but it’s about those guys up front. It’s about Jalen [Hurts]. I think we would be pretty successful without the push, but we’re just pushing them sometimes to give that extra thump.”
The NFL is a copycat league, so you are starting to see other teams try to emulate what the Eagles are doing; however, as Sirianni said, not many teams have a tremendous offensive line like Philadelphia, and most don’t have a quarterback that can squat 600 pounds.
The only thing that could stop this play is the NFL. Over time, you wonder if the league will change the rules, which could happen, but for now, the ‘Tush Push’ is alive and well.
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