The most iconic play in the NFL may also be the simplest. And the 49ers’ game against the Eagles on Sunday is a must-see. The Tush Push, Brotherly Shove, or simply the Eagles’ quarterback sneak are various names for this play. But, whatever the name, Philadelphia has used it so frequently and so effectively that there have been calls for the league to outlaw it. “People can’t do it like we can,” Eagles head coach Nick Siriani stated in October. “Do not prohibit this play. “If everyone could do it, everyone would.”
“Every first down is a first-and-9,” Siriani explained. “It changes the dynamics of the game,” said Greg Cossell, senior producer at NFL Films. “On fourth-and-1 in their own territory, 99 percent of teams punt.” The Eagles do not. They’ve essentially become a four-down team… It has a significant impact on how you play [defensive] on second and third down.” Tom Brady, possibly the greatest quarterback sneaker of all time, is not among those calling for the play to be prohibited. “I like the way they’re doing it,” he remarked of the Eagles’ sneak last year. “They’re turning it into a rugby scrum a little bit.”
That’s what it appeared to me as well. But I wanted to validate my assumptions by speaking with a rugby expert. So I called famed Cal rugby coach Jack Clark, who has won 28 national championships since 1984. He set me straight. Clark believes it’s a stretch to compare the Tush Push to a rugby scrum, maul, or ruck. However, there are many technical similarities, and defenses must use them to defeat the Brotherly Shove.
Success in both the Eagles’ Tush Push and a rugby scrum begins with the front line working together to create space for the ball-carrier to move ahead. This is usually accomplished by three players forming a point. The Eagles’ three-man point consists of the game’s greatest left side of an offensive line: left tackle Jordan Mailata, left guard Landon Dickerson, and center Jason Kelce. “If you’re going to break a big piece of glass, and you walked up and slapped it with your hands, you wouldn’t break it,” said Clark. “But if you walked up with a ballpoint pen, you can, because of the directness of the point.” (As if anyone in the Bay Area needed to be reminded.)
A second line enters the equation behind the three-man point to add more force to the equation. It’s football, rugby, and Newton’s Second Law of Motion all rolled into one. But it’s not simply a bunch of guys. It necessitates great technique. “In rugby, you spend a lot of time trying to find the accuracy of a bunch of people coming together and building something that can go forward,” said Clark. “How low can you get and still keep your feet driving?” He envisions the Eagles doing the same. “You see these guys horizontal, but their feet are still going,” Clark went on to say.
As a result, the Eagles’ offensive line advances the line of scrimmage a yard or two, quarterback Jalen Hurts drops in behind them with the ball — sometimes with a shove from behind him — and the Eagles have picked up a first down on third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 95% of the time this season. So, how does a defense counteract it? Because other teams defend it using football concepts, the Tush Push has dominated. And as long as they continue that, they will be pushed back. Defensive linemen and linebackers are not allocated to take on specific offensive lineman; rather, they are assigned to penetrate or plug the gaps between them. When the Eagles line up for the Tush Push, there will be no holes.
The Eagles’ line, by lined up foot-to-foot (or, in certain circumstances, with overlapping feet), negates traditional run defensive strategies. Teams across the league have attempted practically everything against this play, perplexed by this development. The majority of my efforts have been humiliating. If you attack the Eagles’ line from a side angle, you will be forced back. The same holds true if you try to go much higher or much lower. When you go high, you lose all leverage and wind yourself crowd-surfing. Going lower increases your chances of being pushed face-first into the dirt.
But I believe the 49ers have found the solution: have the defense run the same play as the offense. Clark supplied the game plan without prompting: “The defense is going to have to get their pads lower than those offensive linemen’s pads and then mimic what those guys are doing,” Clark said. More importantly, the defense’s mindset must shift: “You can’t make a tackle.” You must attempt to occupy that place. They must do exactly what the offense is doing.”
“If you try to hold them, you’re going backward,” Clark went on to say. “But if you’re fighting for your two yards and they’re fighting for their two yards, there’s a chance you’re going to get some stalemates, and you’re going to win some of those.” When the Minnesota Vikings attempted to replicate the Brotherly Shove in Week 7, the Niners used this tactic. On the play, the Niners deployed six defensive linemen, each of whom was paired with an offensive lineman on the other side. The Vikings’ second row of pushers was formed by the defensive backs on the side.
