Ah, the tush push. It’s all we’ve heard all year. The Philadelphia Eagles found a play that was near unbeatable and well within the rules of the game and yet somehow, every other team in the league wants to cry about it.
After months of ‘tush push’ debates, it looks like Nick Sirianni and the Eagles have settled on a more fitting name – the Brotherly shove.
Sirianni met with reporters on Wednesday and was asked about the play after it was a factor in the teams’ win over Tampa Bay. In fact, the Eagles even tried a fake version of the play due to its dominant nature.
Fans on reddit had started calling the move the ‘Brotherly Shove’ and it quickly spread to other forms of social media. A reporter mentioned that term to Nick Sirianni, who looked overjoyed after hearing it.
(H/T Erock for posting the video on X. For some reason it won’t embed, but you can see it here)
The Eagles Head Coach laughed when hearing the term ‘Brotherly Shove’ and said he likes it, giving his stamp of approval on a term that will now undoubtedly be used throughout the City forevermore.
What is the Eagles ‘Brotherly shove’?
The play sees Jalen Hurts line up behind a wall of offensive mass and drive defenders back for a 1-yard gain in key situations. It had not been banned prior to the start of the 2023 campaign despite plenty of ‘pushback’ from opposing teams due to the fact that the play walks the tightrope of the rule that says you can’t push offensive players.
It’s been legal since 2005 and the Eagles aren’t the first team to use it, they’re just the best. Philadelphia found unbelievable success with the ‘Brotherly Shove’ last season, going 37 for 41. Teams found it unstoppable, with the Eagles having so much power to drive the pile, and a quarterback who can squat 600 lbs to push the ball over it.
Week 1 saw plenty of other teams try and implement their own ‘Tush push’. The Colts, Bears, and Jaguars, all tried and failed to convert the play, making Eagles fans everywhere laugh and reinforce why the play should be legal.
Not every team has Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson, (and every other offensive player on the Eagles). If other teams fail frequently at picking up 1 yard by pushing the ball behind their offensive line, then clearly it’s not the play that is the advantage, but the personnel executing it.
Regardless of your view of the ‘Brotherly Shove’, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and neither is the term.
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
