Over the past couple of seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles have mastered the rugby-style quarterback sneak that has become known as the “tush push” or “brotherly shove.” On short-yardage plays, quarterback Jalen Hurts typically lines up under center with two or three players behind him. He takes the snap, the offensive line surges forward and Hurts gets a big push from behind. More often than not, the Eagles gain the yardage needed for a first down.
The Eagles attempted the “tush push” 41 times last season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the few teams that managed to have success defending the play.
The future of the play has been widely discussed over the past couple seasons, with some pushing for the NFL to ban it. Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, has consistently spoken out about the outcry against the play, and this week he doubled down on his position.
“Don’t punish a team that strategically does it well,” Vincent said during an appearance on “Pro Football Talk Live.” Vincent also noted that the NFL Competition Committee did not seem interested in discussing the “brotherly shove” this week during the NFL Combine.
However, it is expected the infamous play will be a topic of conversation during next month’s league meetings. Vincent did acknowledge that the Competition Committee did discuss the “tush push” in a meeting during the regular season.
The Eagles had a success rate of more than 92% when they ran the “brotherly shove” last season. In January, All-Pro center Jason Kelce addressed the Eagles’ famous play amid rumors about his potential retirement shortly after the team’s disappointing loss to the Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
If he does indeed step away from the NFL, Kelce appears to be more than happy to leave one particular aspect of his football career in the rearview mirror — the infamous “tush push.” Kelce plays a key role in the play, but it also requires him to go to the bottom of the pile, which is something he was not fond of. Vincent also noted the league is deliberating other rules, such as what happens when an offensive player fumbles and the ball goes through the back of the end zone and fair catches on kickoffs.
