All offseason long, one play dominated the conversation across front offices and practice fields: the Tush Push. Known in Philadelphia as the Brotherly Shove, the short-yardage quarterback sneak was dissected at the owners’ meetings at Palm Beach in the 2025 offseason, where the Packers, Rams, Bills, and others pushed for it to be banned. Some critics called it unfair and dangerous, while others defended it as nothing more than smart football. For weeks, the league weighed the arguments.
When the dust settled, the answer was clear: the play would stay. Despite the noise, NFL owners voted not to outlaw it, ensuring the Eagles’ most infamous weapon remained legal. For Philadelphia, the ruling was more than procedural. Actually, it was a green light to keep running the very play that had become their signature and, in many ways, their swagger.
Ban It or Not, We’ll Find a Way’: Eagles’ Zack Baun on Tush Push Debate
That track record explains the confidence the Eagles linebacker Zack Baun carried when he spoke on Good Morning Football. Asked about the possibility of a ban, the linebacker didn’t flinch. Baun said, “Whether they ban it or not, I know our team and our staff are going to find another way to get the first down. It is what it is. I don’t have much to say about it. It’s a good play.”
The reporters’ panel was laughing. His words echoed the mentality of a locker room that sees the tush push not just as a tactic, but as proof of the team’s toughness and unity.
From Super Bowl to Regular Season, the Eagles’ Secret Weapon Always Delivers
And no team has used it better. Time after time, the Eagles have turned the Tush Push into a guaranteed first down. On October 8, 2023, against the Los Angeles Rams, the Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts slipped behind his offensive line for multiple conversions that helped secure a 23–14 win. Then two weeks later, in a Sunday night matchup with the Miami Dolphins, Hurts and the team went three-for-three on the play. It powered a 31–17 victory in front of a national audience.
The pattern was the same in bigger moments, too. In the 2022 NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles leaned on the Brotherly Shove to keep drives alive and break the 49ers’ will, and had marched to a decisive 31–7 win. What made the play remarkable wasn’t its secrecy. Every defender on the field knew it was coming, but it was inevitable in many ways. The Eagles make that controversial play in a fraction of a second every time. Time and again, the Eagles lined up, pushed forward, and succeeded.
To talk about the 2025 season, in the Week 2 rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs this season, Philadelphia ran the Tush Push seven times. They succeeded on every attempt. It also includes a one-yard touchdown by Hurts in the fourth quarter that proved decisive in a 20–17 victory.
Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs knew it was coming, but the Eagles converted it anyway. It again showed how the play continues to tilt close games in their favor. In Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles’ first points also came on a one-yard shove from Hurts at the goal line. That early strike not only put Philadelphia on the scoreboard. But also set the tone against Kansas City.
And in the 2024 NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders, repeated attempts at the play led to defensive penalties. It was because the Commanders’ defensive players tried to jump early at the line of scrimmage to stop the tush push. But the infractions gifted the Eagles key yardage and points in a 55–23 rout. It was again proved that even when opponents sell out to stop it, the pressure often works against them.
Yet, this Sunday, the Eagles meet a head coach who has made no secret of his distaste for the play. Sean McVay has long bristled at the idea of the Tush Push, which openly questioned its place in the league.
Sean McVay Used Strong Words Against Tush Push ahead of Sunday’s Clash with the Eagles
After one Eagles game last season, he admitted the play had even sparked talks with the league office. The Rams head coach said, “Anytime that you see certain things, you have conversations with the league office to make sure you’re understanding, how is it officiated? How can we coach it?” He also added, “I did see some of those things last night, and that’ll obviously be a big talking point because they’re such a damn good team and it’s such a successful play for them. Those are conversations with the league office, but I’m sure they’ll have the same ones and operate within the confines of not getting a little bit of a rolling start before the ball is snapped.”
That’s what makes this weekend’s game more than just Eagles versus Rams. It’s a test of philosophy: the team that perfected the Brotherly Shove against the coach determined to prove it shouldn’t exist. The Eagles will bring their confidence, McVay will bring his disdain. And somewhere in between lies the answer to the question the whole league has been asking since January. Is there really anyone out there who can stop Philadelphia from running the Tush Push?
