The Philadelphia Eagles have been defiant in their use of the “tush push” this season. After the controversial play survived an offseason vote, the Eagles were quick to let fans know the tush push was here to stay.
Even though the play is perfectly legal, it still remains in the sights of the NFL. Last week, the league reportedly sent a memo saying officials would crack down on false starts on tush push plays. The Eagles escaped a possible false start last week without being flagged. The New Orleans Saints weren’t so lucky.
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With all eyes still on the play, the Eagles decided to do a little more trolling in Week 4. In what everyone expected was an obvious tush push situation Sunday, the Eagles lined up in their usual formation for the play.
Then, they faked it.
Jalen Hurts turned around then quickly gave the ball to Saquon Barkley. With the entire Tampa Bay Buccaneers line crashing hard to stop Hurts, Barkley waltzed into the end zone untouched to score an easy touchdown.
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It was a nasty wrinkle to an already devastating play. If the Eagles are truly going to work the fake into the rotation, defenses will have even more trouble stopping the tush push formation. Well, unless the NFL tries to ban play fakes next offseason.
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While the fake was impressive, it’s actually not the first time the Eagles have deployed it. The team ran the exact same play with D’Andre Swift in 2023. The team doesn’t deploy that fake very often, though it may want to consider doing it more. Based on those two examples — which is, admittedly, a small sample — it works.
The play turned out to play a significant role in the win. It proved to be the deciding score as the Eagles narrowly defeated the Bucs by a score of 31-25 in Week 4.
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