The “tush push,” the “brotherly shove,” call it what you want — it’s practically unstoppable for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Many have called for the NFL to outlaw the play and now Jim Nantz has joined that parade.
“I’m done with the tush push,” Nantz said recently on the “What the Football with Suzy Shuster & Amy Trask” podcast. “I don’t like the play.”
Since the Eagles began running the play in 2022, they’ve essentially had a get-out-of-jail free card on any goalline or short-yardage situation.
Many teams have started utilizing the play, but none have fared quite as well as Philadelphia.
“I know that’s a big part of the arsenal for the Eagles. I think it needs to change,” Nantz declared. “They execute it better than anyone, so Philadelphia fans will be in outcry, saying, ‘Why are you penalizing us?’”
Nantz says his disapproval of the “tush push” comes from the feeling that it’s “too automatic.”
Why run anything else when you only need a couple of yards?
“[The Eagles] had a point in the first half [of Super Bowl 2025] where they settled for a field goal,” Nantz said. “They had first-and-goal at the four … Why wouldn’t you have just run the tush push? You got four plays to get it across.”
Teams are already going to have a tough time stopping Jalen Hurts, who squatted 600 pounds in college, going right up the middle for a quarterback sneak.
But give Hurts some extra pushes from Saquon Barkley, who’s right there with Hurts near the 600-pound squat mark, and a big tight end and barring catastrophe, the Eagles become unstoppable.
“Jalen [Hurts] doesn’t fumble that snap. He doesn’t,” Nantz said. “I mean, he’s going to get a yard and a half every single time.”
It’s so improbable to stop the play, that the Washington Commanders were jumping offside over and over again in the NFC Championship game, just to try and have a chance to make a stand against the brotherly shove.
Next Gen Stats say that the Eagles were 28-for-34 on converting on the “tush push” this season entering Super Bowl 2025 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hurt opened the scoring the 40-22 rout with a “tush push” from the one-yard line to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 6:15 remaining in the first quarter.
“I don’t like the play,” Nantz said. “It just doesn’t feel like football to me.”
