Eagles nearly unstoppable Tush Push ready for Super Bowl 2025 stage: Every first down is first-and-9
NEW ORLEANS — It is called a quarterback sneak in virtually every outpost around the NFL.The Eagles do it differently, with more verve and panache, and, fittingly, they give it a more interesting name.It is the aptly named and visually descriptive Tush Push.
For those favoring a geographic reference, it is the Brotherly Shove.For one of the key participants in the short-yardage play that has brought the rest of the league to its knees, it is characterized as something even more descriptive.“I call it pain,’’ center Cam Jurgens told The Post.It is called something fairly unprintable by defenses who are assigned to get the Eagles off the field and find it nearly impossible to accomplish that mission.
Next up, it is the Chiefs, tasked with figuring out how to stop what has been close to an unstoppable play.Third-and-1 on Sunday in Super Bowl 2025? Fourth-and-1? First-and-goal on the 1-yard line?The Chiefs know what is coming.Everyone knows what is coming.Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, knows what is coming.
Chris Jones, the outstanding Chiefs defensive lineman, knows what is coming.Knowing and doing something about it are not one and the same.This past season, the Eagles converted 82.4 percent of their Tush Push attempts.
In 2023, it was 83.3 percent.In 2022, when Jason Kelce was operating as the starting center, the Eagles tried it 27 times and made it 25 times, a 92.6 percent rate.“Every first down is first-and-9,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni once said of the Brotherly Shove.
“We have a lot of faith in that play.”Every team has short-yardage quarterback sneak plays.The Eagles have a strong, powerful and athletic offensive line, and one of the most powerful quarterbacks in the league.
Jalen Hurts is 223 pounds, and in the weight room he can squat a minivan.The usual setup is to put two players behind Hurts and to shove away.“You kind of got to set that wedge, and you can’t give up any penetration right away,’’ Jurg...