PHILADELPHIA — Have the Philadelphia Eagles ruined football by perfecting one of its simplest plays?
If you've spent any time scrolling through social media during any recent Eagles game, you'd certainly think so.
Whether you call it the "Tush Push," the "Brotherly Shove" or just go with what the play has been called since the dawn of football—the quarterback sneak—many opposing fans and more than a few NFL pundits say the way the Eagles are running the play is unfair.
Defenses can't seem to stop it, so critics are calling for the league to legislate it out of the game.
Long-time NFL reporter Peter King, author of NBC Sports' weekly "Football Morning in America" column, is on record calling for the NFL to ban the play, describing it as "an abomination" that belongs in rugby, not the NFL. (To be fair, King grudgingly praised Eagles coach Nick Sirianni's explanation of why the Eagles run the play so successfully this week.)
FOX Sports reporter Nick Wright has been a vocal critic of the play since last season and issued a renewed call to ban it two weeks ago.
ESPN's Louis Riddick, a former member of the Eagles' front office until his contract wasn't renewed in 2013, posted a call to ban the play on X during the Eagles' 23-14 victory over the Rams on Sunday—but quickly deleted the post after drawing heavy return fire from angry Eagles fans.
What is the "Brotherly Shove?"
Whenever the Eagles are in a short-yardage situation on third or fourth down—roughly 1-2 yards—they tightly pack their offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage and move quarterback Jalen Hurts under center. Two other players—usually a tight end, a big-bodied receiver like A.J. Brown or a running back—line up behind Hurts in the backfield, flanked on either side of him.
When the ball is snapped, center Jason Kelce and guards Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens (or Sua Opeta, who subbed in for Jurgens on Sunday) blast forward and try to get their shoulder pads lower than those of the opposing defenders, while Hurts surges forward behind them.
The two players behind Hurts then charge ahead and give their quarterback an extra shove, helping to propel him through the scrum on the line of scrimmage.
Here's a breakdown by NFL analyst and former Eagle Brian Baldinger.
It's a simple play, but it's incredibly effective—for the Eagles, anyway.
During Sunday's victory over the Rams, the FOX broadcast noted that when the Eagles run the play, they are successful in either picking up a first down or scoring a touchdown 93% of the time.
Other NFL teams who have tried to imitate the play are successful 81% of the time, according to FOX.
On Sunday, the Eagles called the play four times and were successful twice. But the two times the play failed came when Philly was trying to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter, with victory already secured.
To explain their dislike for the play, detractors cite several issues:
It's aesthetically displeasing—more like a rugby scrum than actual football, they claim.
The extra shove Hurts sometimes gets from the players behind him used to be illegal before the league changed the rules.
It's unfair to opposing defenses due to its extremely high success rate.
The latest issue, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter (who generally serves as the league's mouthpiece in these kind of situations) is player safety.
Schefter said Sunday that the league will join with the NFL Players Association to examine any injury data related to the play in the offseason. He pointed out that when the New York Giants unsuccessfully tried to imitate the play during a loss to the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month, two Giants players were injured.
Phillyvoice reporter Jimmy Kempski countered Schefter's point in his post-game wrap-up Sunday.
"On that Giants play, TE Daniel Bellinger wasn't really even part of the play, and he certainly wasn't being pushed on it," Kempski wrote. "Rookie center John Michael Schmitz injured his shoulder, but he is expected to return to the lineup soon.
"...To correct Schefter's tweet, it is most certainly not 'customary' for the NFL to thoroughly investigate injury data on a play the first time a guy gets a minor injury while running it...Call it what it is. One team is great at it, and the rest of the NFL doesn't want to defend it so they're trying to legislate it out of the game."
Supporters of the play note that other teams have the same opportunity to run the play as the Eagles do. If they can't replicate the Eagles' success rate, why should that be Philly's problem?
Not every team has a quarterback like Hurts -- who reportedly can squat 600 pounds, they say. Not every team has an offensive line like Philly's, which has been widely regarded one of the league's top units for the last several seasons, they point out.
USA Today's Mike Freeman on Monday provided a spirited defense of the Brotherly Shove, saying criticism of the play "smacks of pettiness and jealousy."
"I'd want it gone, too, if I had to play against it," Freeman writes. "It's a huge force right now. The Eagles used the play several times against the Rams on Sunday and even with one of the best interior linemen of all time in Aaron Donald trying to stop it, the Rams, like other teams, were completely helpless.
"The Eagles have crafted a huge advantage. Good for them. Don't whine. Don't ban it. Figure out a way to stop it."