The NFL has banned different plays or strategies throughout history. Plays get banned due to them being unfair or for safety reasons. The Philadelphia Eagles have been the center of controversy regarding their quarterback sneak formation, called the “tush-push.”
When faced with a third-or-fourth-and-short, the Eagles always run the “tush-push.” The Eagles line quarterback Jalen Hurts under center with two teammates behind him. Once the ball is snapped, Hurts lunges forward while the two players behind him push him forward for the first down. The Eagles do not convert all the time, but their success rate was over 90% last year, being successful 37 out of 41 times.
Opposing NFL players and coaches have called for the play to be banned, deeming it “unstoppable,” but the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, and New York Giants all attempted the formation in Week 4 and all were unsuccessful. If the play is so unstoppable, why did these three teams fail? And shouldn’t all 32 teams run the same play in short-yard situations?
If teams have an issue with it, they should figure out how to stop it or how to execute it properly. The truth is that the play is not easy to succeed with. The Eagles just have the right pieces to execute it properly.
It’s not a surprise that the Eagles have the best offensive line in the NFL, especially the interior. Center Jason Kelce consistently plows through the middle defenders making room for Hurts to lunge forward. On top of that, Hurts’ lower body strength is insane. He keeps moving and moving until he gets the first down yardage. An even bigger help is the players they put behind Hurts. Putting your 6’5”, 256 lb tight end Dallas Goedert and 226 lb wide receiver A.J. Brown behind to push will get the needed yards instantly.
We’ve even seen teams with the necessary pieces to execute the play but were unable to. The Indianapolis Colts tried it in Week 1 with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson who is 6’4” and 244 lbs. The Colts head coach is Shane Steichen, who was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2022 and called the play all the time. The problem with the Colts is that their interior offensive line is not as good as Philadelphia’s.
The “tush-push” should not be banned. Wanting to ban the play is basically saying to ban a five-yard out route because a team is unable to stop it.
