Whether you call it the “tush push” or the “Brotherly Shove,” Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni says his team’s designed quarterback sneak is here to stay — and it’ll be up to Philly’s opponents to stop it.
The play, which is reminiscent of a rugby scrum, involves the offensive line and quarterback Jalen Hurts gathering in a tight formation with the team literally pushing the QB into the end zone. The Eagles have had over a 50% success rate on third down this year, making 37-for-73 attempts, primarily using the play.
“The growth of that play is just a great example of what we want to be as a team,” Sirianni said after Philadelphia’s Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
“If we stayed the same in our quarterback sneaks from 2021 until now, defenses would’ve caught up to it. But we’ve grown in the areas, and we’ve grown in fundamentals. … We’ll play the rules of what they (the league) say to do. It’s a good play for us. The competition committee can look at it, but until then people have to stop it.”
NFL & Players Association Plan to Investigate ‘Brotherly Shove,’ Per Adam Schefter
Considering the recent success the Eagles have had with the “Brotherly Shove,” it was only a matter of time before now, other teams have tried to emulate it. Unfortunately, players are starting to get injured while attempting the play.
Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants rookie center John Michael Schmitz and tight end Daniel Bellinger were injured when the offense tried the “tush push.”
According to top NFL insider Adam Schefter, the league and the NFL Players Association will look closer at the play after the the 2023 season concludes.
“The controversial play has the attention of the competition committee,” Schefter wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “and the NFL and the NFLPA plan to study all the injury data related to the play, as is customary, during the off-season, per a league official, especially after two Giants were injured on the play Monday night.”
Eagles Players Love the ‘Brotherly Shove’
Per Sports Radio WIP-FM out of Philadelphia, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert says he has been talking smack to other teams whenever the “Brotherly Shove” occurs. This apparently included perennial Rams All-Pro Aaron Donald.
“I told Aaron Donald that he needs to come off the ball harder,” Goedert said. ” I told a couple people that they need to get their weight up. I tell them to stop jumping. You know, a lot of times I just be telling them they should just give it to us. But yeah, we’ve had great success with that this year.”
“It’s organized mass,” Eagles veteran center Jason Kelce said about the play, per Sports Illustrated. “And you can’t stop it if it’s organized properly. I think that the more you coach it up and the more detailed it is, the more organized it is.”
Perhaps Sirianni summed it up best: “We watched the rest of the league,” Sirianni added, referencing other teams’ attempts at emulating the much-discussed play. “And, quite frankly, they can’t do it like we can.”
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Nick Sirianni Issues Challenge to Rest of NFL on ‘Tush Push’