A monumental win in Super Bowl LIX propelled the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles into elite status. But it also cemented their most succesful play into icon status. With recent league owner meetings green lighting the formentioned, ‘Tush Push,’ as a legal play, let’s examine ways defenses can negate the Eagles from converting on 4th down or scoring in short yardage areas.
First, I need to address just how successful the ‘Tush Push’ (or as Philly fans call it, ‘The Brotherly Shove’) is. Quarterback sneaks have been an efficent short yardage play since the leather cap era of football. Funny enough Tom Brady is regarded as the most successful QB sneaking player in NFL history, despite his lack of mobility outside the pocket.
The Philadelphia Eagles were the first to introduce a QB sneak formation that featured 2 to 3 players lined up inches away the from quarterback as well as linemen in 4-point positions and interlocked splits as if they were blocking for the field goal team. The duo of future HOFer Jason Kelce and now, SB MVP Jalen Hurts coordinated an unstoppable ball carrying force that trajected Hurts across the desired line to gain on almost every attempt. When Kelce announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 season, fans were quick to speculate if the ‘Tush Push’ success was maintainable without its battering ram. Philly’s solution? Add some power to the back end (literally).
RB Saquon Barkley was signed before the 2024 season and his lower body power, combined with the strength of Jalen Hurts, made the ‘Brotherly Shove’ more successful than ever. In 2024, the ‘Tush Push’ amassed to an 87% success rate and since 2022, resulted in 27 touchdowns for Philadelphia (accounting for more than 50% of all ‘Tush Push’ TDs league wide in that period). It’s success comes from personel for sure but the Eagles do a great job of not making mistakes. The ‘Tush Push’ is a silent count play, which means there’s no cadence to the snap count to throw the defense off guard. Zero cadence plays can result in false starts which would push the offense back 5 yards, eliminating the use of a ‘Tush Push” play call. The Eagles’ offense does a fantastic job of understanding the snap count and avoiding false starts. This is something other teams struggle to do when replicating the ‘Tush Push.’
But how can it be stopped? Only the Eagles have truly mastered it. Even the Buffalo Bills who have executed the play at a high success rate are stopped quite a bit *cough cough* AFC Championship game. Here are some ways that defense’s can create a personalized attack to halt the ‘Brotherly Shove’ from pushing farther.
- Cutting the O-Line: A cut block is a common tactic used by offesnive linemen for stopping edge rushers from penetrating the QB or clearing a threat while pulling down the line. Defenses could adopt this strategy and have their defensive linemen cut the offensive linemen that are lined up opposed to them. By diving at the opponent’s legs, rendering them useless, D-linemen can create space for their backers to fill and plug the oncoming rushing attack. Plus, if you pile bodies on the line of scrimmage then there’s no ground for Hurts to run on. The ‘Tush Push’ is a low man game and getting guys to the ground might just be the best way to win it.
- Jumping the Center: We saw Frankie Luvu attempt this countless times in the NFC Championship and thought ‘maybe someone struck kryptonite?’ But he failed and was almost kicked out of the game. I still think this is a good strategy (in desparation) to try and stop the ‘Tush Push.’ By timing the snap just right, LBs can stop Jalen Hurts in his tracks (while also soaring over the offensive line). If the timing is off, offsides is called which doesn’t move the ball very far when positioned on the goal line. This strategy is certainly difficult to pull off but Luvu and the Commanders play the Eagles twice next season and I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to perfect their craft of line leaping.
- Creating Outside Pressure: When a defense sees Jalen Hurts line up under center and the two backs follow suit, all 11 guys know what’s coming next (that can really be said for anytime the Eagles get within 0-3 yards of the line to gain). The defense naturally stacks as many bodies as they can over the middle of the formation to stop the freight. One way to think outside of the box is to lineup outside of the box. Well, the tackle box that is. Using a defensive back that can swiftly run around the offensive line, or through a B, C, or D gap could put enough pressure on Hurts to bring him down short of his target. This tactic requires a defensive back who is an effective blitzer and can break through the line. Also, stunting your D-linemen (having a defensive linemen take a different route to the backfield than the gap in front of them) could open a hole for a blitzing DB to pierce through.
- Changing the Rules: The Green Bay Packers attempt of banning the ‘Tush Push’ play fell 2 votes short of reaching the 75% vote needed to overturn the legality of pushing a ball carrier from behind. While it looks like the play is here to stay, there are other rules that can change to lower its efficiency rating. Currently, defensive players are NOT allowed to push other defenders into the play. If this rule changes, we could see a push fest of two sides going at it on the line of scrimmage. Having linebackers push their 300+ lbs. linemen into a Center-QB-RB sandwich sounds like entertainment to me. Rules could also change to only allow one back to lineup 5 yards or less off the ball, rather than having two running backs on each side of the QB. Another bizarre rule that could be incorporated would say if a team lines up in QB sneak formation, they cannot pass the ball. This takes the need for DBs to line up 5+ yards off the ball away and can create more pressure on the running attack. While I’m never in favor of rule changes, if defenses can’t find a strategy to stop the ‘Brotherly Shove’ then one might be coming to the league soon.
In all honesty, I think the ‘Tush Push’ is good for the game. The Philadelphia Eagles assembled the personnel and practed enough reps to create a fully efficient offensive scheme. That’s the goal of every offense right? While finding a way to stop it is better for our entertainment, I hope this comes naturally rather than forcefully. Realistically, when teams are playing the Eagles they need to treat first downs as 8 to 9 yards rather than 10 yards. If you give up 8 yards to the Philadelphia Eagles, then you might as well have given up the first down. I look forward to seeing how sustainable the ‘Tush Push’ is this year and what strategies teams use to stop it.
Written by Colby Shannon, Wednesday May 21st at 9:52 pm
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