The Philadelphia Eagles picked up a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 and will look to get their offense going in a Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Rams. But all anyone wants to talk about is the Tush Push.
The play, which has been instrumental in Philadelphia’s success since Nick Sirianni’s arrival in 2021, was used to clinch the victory over the Chiefs. But the accusations of offensive linemen lining up in the neutral zone and the NFL admitting the Eagles should have been called for “at least” one false start on the play have the league instructing officials to call the play “tight” moving forward.
Many have grown fatigued over the issue, and it could lead to the play getting banned next offseason. But while many are complaining about not being able to stop the play, the NFL is missing a massive detail on the defensive side of the ball, where players are getting their own head start by lining up in the neutral zone.
NFL Needs to Look Both Ways in Crackdown of Eagles' Tush Push
The outcries began when Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones called out Eagles guard Tyler Steen for jumping early on the play. Andy Reid also echoed his star lineman, believing the Eagles got a head start on some of the Tush Push plays on Sunday.
“You try to get penetration and be able to stop it, but that’s a pretty rough one,” Reid said via USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “I might have had a couple of them that they got off a little early on, but we’ll look at that.”
The NFL apparently agreed and replays posted to X showed some Eagles getting a jump on the play. But what’s not being talked about is that several Chiefs were in the neutral zone in the final Tush Push, almost as a final act of desperation to save the game.
Eagles fans have seen this before. Late in last year’s NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders, linebacker Frankie Luvu committed several penalties trying to stop the Tush Push before referee Shawn Hochuli threatened to award the Eagles for scoring a touchdown if he didn’t stop jumping offsides. Luvu referred to the Tush Push as “a cheapo play” after the game, but it’s a sign that the Tush Push has become a psychological advantage in addition to being a physical one.
According to ESPN, the Eagles have posted a 91.3% success rate on the Tush Push over the past three seasons, but the rest of the league converts only 71% to 76% when using the play. Offensive coordinators have also galaxy-brained themselves trying to put a successful version of the play into their playbooks, with opposing teams looking to acquire bigger, stronger players to try and stop it.
Not every team can have a 464-pound nose tackle to try and stop the play, so lining up in the neutral zone might be the next best option. But if the NFL wants to talk about player safety, finding a way to stop defenders from acting like a human missile might be something they want to focus on.
Ultimately, this might be one big headache that the NFL does away with by banning the Tush Push next season. But with the play here for the present, it might be wise for the league to look both ways before trying to crack down on it.