The Tush Push is here to stay. During an appearance on PFT Live, NFL executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent that the Philadelphia Eagles’ fourth-and-short play will not be banned by the league’s Competition Committee.
“Don’t punish a team that strategically does it well,” Vincent said.
Vincent added that the NFL Competition Committee didn’t even discuss the Tush Push when the group met during the Scouting Combine. According to the former All-Pro cornerback, teams are on the same page that there is no reason to ban the play, and there is no current plan to bring it up at the upcoming league meeting.
The Jason Kelce-Jalen Hurts combo play dominated the NFL in 2023 during the regular season. Philadelphia led the league with a 71.4 percent conversion rate on fourth-down run plays with two yards or fewer to go, more than 10 percentage points higher than the next best team. In goal-to-go situations, the Eagles were able to score 13 touchdowns on 19 attempts when running from two yards or closer, the highest rate in the league. Hurts co-led all quarterbacks with 15 rushing touchdowns (tied with Josh Allen). All but three of those came from two yards or closer.
Vincent acknowledged just how successful the Eagles were at the play, claiming the sentiment around the league is that the Eagles simply found a successful short-yard play.
“Their success rate, just amazing,” Vincent said.
No other team was able to match the Eagles’ success rate, even when trying to replicate the Brotherly Shove. Only five teams, including Philadelphia, were able to convert fourth-and-short plays at a rate higher than 50 percent. Hurts was the only quarterback able to sneak it consistently on the goal line – outside of Josh Allen (seven) no other quarterback had more than three Tushing touchdowns from inside the 2-yard-line.
The only thing that may kill the play in the future is safety concerns. Kelce called the Brotherly Shove “a grueling play” that sacrificed “short-term gain” for “long-term pain.” He would reportedly yell ‘F**k my life’ every time he got up to the line before a Tush Push play. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in October that the league would look into the Tush Push with relation to injury concerns. Giants center John Michael Schmitx and tight end Daniel Bellinger were injured during a failed Tush Push around the same time as Schefter’s report.
