Had enough of the Brotherly Shove, eh?
The Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl after a dominant win over the Washington Commanders. (Full disclosure, there are still 8 minutes left in the game as I’m writing this but Saquon Barkley just scored another touchdown so I feel pretty confident saying this one’s over for Washington. Feel free to roast me if you’re reading this after the game and Washington somehow came back and pulled it off).
The Commanders defense was no match for the Eagles offense, with running back Saquon Barkley racking up three scores (as of right now) for the Birds while quarterback Jalen Hurts added three of his own.
But two of those TDs from Hurts came thanks to the “tush push.”
If you’ve watched the Eagles the past few years you’re no doubt familiar with the tush push (and no I’m not talking about the line dance).
The play, also known as the “Brotherly Shove,” has been the team’s go-to in short yardage situations, when they only need to pick up a yard or two. First popularized by the Eagles back in 2022, the rugby-style play calls for the quarterback to line up directly behind the center and then rely on the rest of the team to push him into the endzone (or across the line for a first down). And despite the loss of center Jason Kelce, who retired after last season, the Eagles have perfected the tush push to the point that they’re basically automatic when the team is on the goal line or in need of one or two yards.
After a series of events… Touchdown Eagles!
📺: #WASvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sk2r9bBJ2I— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2025
The Washington Commanders have done their best to stop Hurts and the tush push, but…well, it hasn’t really worked for them.
Frankie Luvu did it again lol pic.twitter.com/GhcUwoSznu
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 26, 2025
To their credit, the Commanders were doing everything they could to stop it, attempting to time their jump perfectly to get to Hurts before he could be pushed across the goalline. But the result was the team drawing so many offsides penalties that the Commanders were warned that if they kept jumping early, the referees could award the Eagles the score anyway.
"Encroachment, defense No. 93. Washington has been advised that at some point the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again. For now, it's a replay of second down." – Shawn Hochuli, after Fox's Mike Pereira alluded to this as well.pic.twitter.com/jZcDABVdMv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 26, 2025
(The refs giving points to somebody other than the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes?)
Well predictably, the Eagles managed to score on the next play using yet another tush push. And fans watching the game have had just about enough.
After the disaster of a touchdown sequence that included four straight penalties for Washington while the Eagles were on the 1-yard line, football fans were begging the NFL to do something and finally ban the tush push once and for all.
https://x.com/stoolpresidente/status/1883648342414291280
https://x.com/KurtBenkert/status/1883647848757260497
https://x.com/MattFontana83/status/1883647676228731197
https://x.com/RandyScottESPN/status/1883648251066491090
https://x.com/andrewm1119/status/1883648593191686494
https://x.com/ktfuntweets/status/1883648332612112747
https://x.com/EdGreenberger/status/1883648589794058350
https://x.com/JoshGrahamShow/status/1883648275867381937
https://x.com/MarkZinno/status/1883647904113737735
Of course there’s also the argument that other teams could just figure out a way to stop it. But the NFL has reportedly considering banning the move in the past, before ultimately deciding to allow it to remain following last season (when the Eagles had a staggering 90% success rate on tush push plays).
And with the Eagles in the Super Bowl, get ready to see it again in a couple of weeks in the NFL’s biggest game.
