Tush Push

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Not to be confused with Bush push.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has been involved in the team's Tush Push play since 2021.

The Tush Push, also known as the Brotherly Shove, is an American football play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles. It is a variation of the traditional quarterback sneak, in which the quarterback takes the snap and immediately drives forward while the offensive line is also surging forward. In the Eagles' version, additional players line up behind the quarterback and physically push him forward as the offensive line surges ahead. It is typically used in short-yardage situations, including within 1 to 2 yards of the goal line.

The Eagles first attempted the Tush Push in 2021 with Jalen Hurts as their quarterback. Since 2022, the Eagles have regularly executed the Tush Push with notable efficiency, making it a key part of their offensive strategy and contributing to their appearances in Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LIX, the latter of which they won. Other teams in the NFL and college football have tried to replicate the play to varying degrees of success.

The play has drawn controversy, with some calling for it to be banned. Critics argue that it creates an unfair advantage, is difficult for referees to officiate, and poses safety risks. It has been compared to the flying wedge, a similar play banned for over a century due to causing numerous injuries. Supporters contend that it is legal, available to all teams, and should not be banned simply due to the Eagles' effectiveness running it.

Background

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The appearance of the Tush Push has drawn comparisons to a scrum, a method used in Rugby union code.

The Tush Push is a variation of the quarterback sneak, which is a basic play in American football where the quarterback lines up directly behind the center, takes the snap, and immediately dives or pushes forward behind the offensive line, who simultaneously move forward. The play is designed to gain a short distance, usually to convert a 3rd or 4th down and inches, or to score near the goal line.[1] In the case of the Tush Push, the quarterback is pushed from behind by one or two of his own players as he and the offensive line simultaneously drive forward after being lined up in tight formation.[1] This pushing motion and the resulting formation has often been compared to several different rugby forms of gameplay, such as the scrum, driving maul,[2] and pick-and-go.[3]

Origins

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The play's origins trace back decades to the innovative coaching of Bill Snyder at Kansas State University.[4] Starting around 2005, Snyder began experimenting with assisted quarterback sneaks, recognizing the potential for maximizing short-yardage efficiency. His approach was characteristically methodical–identifying a strategic advantage and refining it through systematic implementation.[4] From 2015 to 2018, Snyder's offensive coordinator Dana Dimel played a crucial role in implementing and developing the early version of the play.[5] The play and its nickname can also be traced to the Bush push, where University of Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart scored a last-second touchdown against the University of Notre Dame in 2005 thanks to a shove from teammate Reggie Bush; the NFL removed the prohibition on pushing ball-carriers the next year.[6]

Offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni (left) and quarterback Jacoby Brissett (right) ran an early version of the play while part of the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. Sirianni brought the play's concept with him when he became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2018, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was overheard theorizing an early version of the play, suggesting a large quarterback should be pushed from behind by one or two other large teammates during short-yardage situations. The Indianapolis Colts ran a variation of the play during Week 10 of the 2020 season against the Tennessee Titans, when backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who weighed 238 pounds (108 kg), was put in the game and ran in for a touchdown at the 1-yard line.[7] Nick Sirianni, their offensive coordinator at the time, joined the Philadelphia Eagles as head coach the next year.[8] He later credited Brissett and Colts head coach Frank Reich for inspiring the play, along with his future Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and their former quarterback Carson Wentz.[4]

Implementation by the Philadelphia Eagles

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Sirianni introduced the play's concept to the Eagles upon joining the team in 2021. The team ran its first iteration in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, when Eagles fullback Jack Stoll pushed quarterback Jalen Hurts from behind to get him over the goal line.[7] The team ran it again in Week 11, in a home game against the New Orleans Saints, this time with tight end Dallas Goedert motioning across the formation before settling in directly behind Hurts. When the ball was snapped, Goedert pushed Hurts to help get the yard needed to successfully convert for a first down.[4]

The Eagles continued to incorporate the play during the 2022 season, trying out different variations in short-yardage situations.[4] Then-Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen later cited their Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals as a turning point. Initially, it was merely one of the Eagles' many short-yardage plays, but after successfully using it to make five out of six first-down conversions against the Cardinals, the team decided to make it their singular focus in those situations.[9] During the next week's game against the Dallas Cowboys, the team additionally lined up a running back behind Hurts, resulting in the now-familiar formation of two players on each of the quarterback's hips.[4][3] The controversial play became widely known as the "Tush Push",[6] as well as the "Brotherly Shove", which is a play on the "City of Brotherly Love" nickname for Philadelphia.[10]

Following the season's end, Stoutland recruited Scottish rugby coach Richie Gray into the Eagles organization to refine the play's technique.[11][8]

Ban attempts

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"Give credit to Jalen [Hurts] and all those guys for creating a play that someone decided we're just going to make a rule up to stop it."

– Kellen Moore, former Eagles offensive coordinator.[4]

In February 2025, the Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal to the NFL's competition committee to ban the Tush Push, with the play being a topic of discussion at the Annual League Meeting in March.[12] Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke against the ban, calling it "a little unfair" to target the play merely for the fact that it was highly successful for Philadelphia, and added that the team had worked tirelessly to perfect it.[13] Other teams opposed banning, as some had begun experimenting with the play themselves.[14][15] On April 1, 2025, the league declined to hold a formal vote on the Packers' proposed ban after an informal poll showed the teams to be evenly divided on the issue, short of the 3/4 majority that would have been needed to implement the ban.[16]

A second attempt to ban the play was submitted, also by the Packers on May 21, 2025, during the league's annual spring meetings. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie and former Eagles center Jason Kelce defended the play during the meeting, emphasizing the importance of its safety.[17] The attempt was two votes short, receiving 22 of 24 needed to ban the play. Not including the Philadelphia Eagles, the other nine teams that voted against banning the play were Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans.[18]

Packers CEO and president Mark Murphy, who authored the proposal to ban the play, stepped down from his position in July, requiring a new ban proposal to have a new author, more support, and more votes. Despite the play remaining legal, Kelce predicted that the play would eventually be banned, saying "I think that there's a lot of people within the league, at multiple levels, that want the play to be gone, which is fine. I think [the Eagles] will still go back to running quarterback sneak, and I'm sure they'll figure out ways to be successful. I'm not really that concerned with it, to be very candid."[19]

Design and execution

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Success rate

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The Philadelphia Eagles used the Tush Push to score the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIX, which they won.

The Tush Push has been noted as a particularly effective play, with several pundits calling it "unstoppable".[9][10][20] During the 2022 season, the Philadelphia Eagles converted 29-of-32 attempts for a first down–a success rate of over 90%.[21] Between 2022 and 2024, 28 of the 32 teams in the NFL attempted a variation of the play,[4] while other college football teams have also adapted some form of the Tush Push.[22] Throughout that same period, the Eagles and the Buffalo Bills executed the play 163 times. Both teams either scored a touchdown or achieved a first down 87% of the time, while the rest of the NFL has only been successful on 71% of attempts.[23] A total of 52 NFL touchdowns were scored using the Tush Push during those three seasons, with the Eagles scoring 27 of them.[24] Additionally, the Eagles reached Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LIX in the same timeframe and score the first touchdown of both games using the Tush Push, ultimately losing the first Super Bowl but winning the second.[25][23]

Play breakdown

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Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson cited the Eagles's large offensive line having initial movement and using the ground to launch themselves forward as the keys to the Tush Push's success.

Part of the Eagles' success in running the Tush Push has been attributed to the team's roster and personnel. When the team ran the play during the 2024 season, quarterback Jalen Hurts, a former powerlifter who could squat 600 pounds (272 kg), was designed to run behind the combined 697 pounds (316 kg) of left tackle Jordan Mailata and left guard Landon Dickerson, along with center Cam Jurgens, who weighed 303 pounds (137 kg).[20] Pushing Hurts from behind that year was running back Saquon Barkley, who could lift 600 pounds (272 kg), and tight end Dallas Goedert, who Barkley commended for his strength.[26] Hurts' unique lower-body strength and instincts for finding openings in the line of scrimmage have been cited as some of the key components for making the play work, and why other teams have failed to replicate it. Another important aspect noted for the play's success is the ability of the interior offensive linemen to create significant push and get lower than the defensive linemen. Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who preceded Jurgens and participated in the Tush Push during its inception, was noted to have this skillset.[9]

Scientifically breaking down the Tush Push, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson primarily credited the size and strength of the Eagles' offensive line for the play's success.[27] The 2024 Eagles featured one of the largest offensive lines in the league, including right tackle Lane Johnson, standing at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m), and weighing 325 pounds (147 kg); left tackle Mailata, who measures at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and 365 pounds (166 kg); and left guard Dickerson, who is 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 335 pounds (152 kg).[26] Tyson further detailed that when running the play, the offensive line would "[use] the Earth as a launching point for their movement" to propel themselves forward, and that the offense snapping the ball first also gives the advantage of a "quarter-second head start in momentum transfer" over the defense. With the offensive line driving low, this clears the path for Hurts to charge forward. Tyson also mentioned that defenders who try to leap over the offensive line to halt momentum are at a disadvantage, as they are airborne and unable to use the ground to add to their momentum.[28]

Lacking the right personnel has made teams unable to safely replicate the Tush Push during practice; former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen stated the team perfected the play by running it during games. Consequently, this also causes difficulty in determining ways to defend against the play.[9]

Play variations

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After successfully incorporating the play into their offensive playbook, the Eagles began implementing new variations to further confuse the defense.[29][30] During the 2024 NFC Championship Game the Eagles incorporated a hard count into the play, resulting in the opposing Washington Commanders drawing three consecutive encroachment penalties.[29][31] Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu received a disqualification warning after getting called for the first two penalties during this sequence, and after the Commanders were penalized for the third time, the referee warned that a touchdown would be automatically awarded to the Eagles if it happened again.[29] In a 2025 Week 4 match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Eagles ran two variations when lining up in the Tush Push formation. The first occurred on first-and-goal when Hurts threw the ball underhand to Goedert, who followed a set of blockers into the end zone, and the second occurred during a third-and-1 near their opponent's goal line, when Hurts broke the formation to hand the ball off to Barkley, who ran a jet sweep for an easy uncontested touchdown.[30]

Criticism

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"A great play essentially creates freedom for an individual to move away from the pile of men. The Tush Push is a shove into the pile."

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and NFL analyst Bill Cowher criticized the design of the Tush Push, with both separately describing it as "not a football play" that rather belongs in rugby.[33][34] Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post called the Tush Push a "boring, brutish play" that went against the modern game's appeal of "the ability of an individual to find space and move into at speed."[32] Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie countered these arguments by stating that the forward pass was once controversial during the sport's early days before eventually becoming a mainstay in the modern era.[17] However, these complaints continued to grow when the Eagles ran the play four consecutive times against the New York Giants during a Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup in 2025.[35][36]

Legality complaints

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Upon the Tush Push's rise in usage, a majority of NFL teams filed complaints about the legality of the play, citing the "assisting the runner" penalty.[3] The play takes advantage of an NFL rule that was modified in 2005 to allow players to assist the ball carrier in the form of pushing, which was previously banned, although "pulling" and "carrying" are still prohibited.[37] In Week 8 of the 2022 season, the NFL's officiating department issued a clarification regarding whether the play should be penalized: "This is not a foul, because what he is doing is pushing the runner. Players are allowed to push, but they are not allowed to encircle and pull to assist the runner."[3]

Safety concerns

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Quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray opposed using the Tush Push due to injury concerns when running it previously.

Concerns over players' safety have also been raised regarding the Tush Push. Despite his team's usage of the play, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott stated that it is "potentially contrary to the health and safety of the players".[23] Quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray requested their teams not call the play after nearly getting injured during previous attempts at running it.[9] Pundits have compared the Tush Push to the flying wedge, a similar play the sport banned over a century before because of its contribution to serious injury.[32][37] Former Eagles center and prominent Tush Push participant Jason Kelce acknowledged it as a "grueling play" but added that football is "a sport that comes down to physicality".[38] Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton also spoke in favor of the Tush Push, calling it "one of the safest plays in football".[39]

In 2023, NFL investigated the potential injury risk of the play and concluded "nothing notable" was found, although NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated there were other aspects about the play to consider.[40] On February 26, 2025, NFL executive Troy Vincent said no injury was suffered on a Tush Push play in 2024, per the league's internal data.[41]

Officiating difficulties

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During a Week 2 matchup between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025, the NFL said that the officials missed a false start call on at least one occasion when the Eagles ran the Tush Push. As a result, the league office announced that it would instruct its referees to tightly scrutinize any future instance of the play.[42] Negative criticism further arose the next week during the Eagles' narrow victory over the Los Angeles Rams, with two false starts being missed when the Eagles ran it; controversy continued as the New Orleans Saints attempted to utilize the same play against the Seattle Seahawks, only to receive a false start penalty under similar circumstances that were not recognized by officials during the game in Philadelphia earlier that day.[43][44]

See also

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References

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  2. ^ Hogwood, Cameron (November 16, 2023). "Richie Gray: Meet Jason Kelce and the Philadelphia Eagles Scottish tush push guru". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025.
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  37. ^ a b Robinson, Doug (January 20, 2023). "Making sense of this NFL rule is a heavy load". Deseret News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  38. ^ Smith, Michael David (February 22, 2025). "Jason Kelce: Tush push sucks for the center, but is a difference-maker for the Eagles". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on August 1, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  39. ^ Legwold, Jeff (September 30, 2025). "Broncos' Sean Payton defends tush push, says play among safest". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  40. ^ Rapp, Timothy (December 14, 2023). "NFL's Roger Goodell Says 'I Haven't Taken a Position' on 'Tush Push' Despite Rumors". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  41. ^ McKeone, Liam (February 26, 2025). "No Players Were Injured in Tush Push Plays in 2024, NFL Data Shows". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  42. ^ Mask, Mark (September 18, 2025). "NFL instructs officials to watch for false starts on the tush push". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  43. ^ Phillips, Ryan (September 21, 2025). "Eagles' First Tush Push vs. Rams Had Another Bad Missed Call by Refs". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  44. ^ Anderson, Kari (September 21, 2025). "NFL referees flag Saints — not the Eagles — for false start on tush push attempt". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.