The Philadelphia Eagles’ “tush push” is not as automatic as people might think. Three other NFL teams tried it in Week 4 and failed miserably.
There have been calls for the league to ban Philly’s patented quarterback sneak given how difficult it is to stop in short-yardage situations. But that hardly means that any team could pick up a few yards with it should they need to – the Eagles are really the only team with the wherewithal to pull it off consistently.
The New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, and New York Giants all tried the move in Week 4 and could not get it to work. The Eagles, meanwhile, used it to perfection during their win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night and it ended up being one of the reasons they moved to 4-0.
Jordan Mailata, an offensive tackle for Philadelphia, recently spoke up in defense of the tactic and rubbished the comparisons to rugby.
“I just think that rugby is much tougher than a QB sneak, in my opinion,” the 26-year-old OT said on Monday. “To call it a rugby play, I think you’re doing a disservice to the sport and the players that play rugby. I’m not for that just because of my history, just because rugby is a tough sport man…Don’t get me started when they compare it to a scrum. What are we talking about? This is ridiculous.
Mailata, who is Australian, grew up playing rugby, so he knows a thing or two about the sport. By the way, he’s not a fan of the Eagles’ sneak being called “tush push.”
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“First off the scrum and ruck in Rugby is way harder than a tush push or Brotherly Shove,” he explained. “Whoever started calling it “tush push” should be in jail. It’s got nothing to do with the pushes, it’s got something to do with the QB who can squat 600 pounds.”
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has also defended the move, pointing out that a certain tactic being unstoppable is no reason for the NFL to ban it.
“I honestly just think they have the team to do the Tush Push,” he said, via Bleacher Report. “We stopped [New] England, when they tried to do the same thing to us, it’s all about who you have. The Eagles have the best o-line in the game, so yes it’s a cheat code, they’re unstoppable at it.
“We just have to deal with it, we have to adjust, we have to prepare to stop it. It’s not up to the league to say, ‘Hey, just because you can’t stop it, we have to take it away.’ No, we have to get better, we have to get stronger up front and we have to stop it.”
