29 September 2023 , 17:31
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has become the most high-profile player to publicly take no issue with the Philadelphia Eagles and their controversial 'tush push' play.
Mahomes, 28, has joined recently-retired defensive end JJ Watt in players past and present refusing to criticise the strategy. Conversely, multiple NFL analysts are calling for the league to take action and curb its usage.
The play sees the Eagles take two of their heaviest defenders and position them directly behind quarterback Jalen Hurts. Those pair then physically push Hurts forward after he takes the snap in short-yardage situations.
Monday night saw the strategy prove productive in beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Philadelphia quarterback went over for a one-yard touchdown after deploying the formation.
However, Mahomes has no issue with the Eagles' take on the quarterback sneak. "It's an advantage for them," he admitted, according to AP, "But you see other teams in the league try to do it, and they can't do it as well as they do.
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"It speaks to their offensive line; it speaks to their quarterback. They know how to do it at a really high level; they practice it and have worked on it, so I think, as you've seen now, other teams have tried to manipulate and do that different type of stuff, and they might get the first down, but it's not as pretty and as powerful as when the Eagles do it.
"All to them, they've mastered something that I think other teams will try to do as best as they can."
Hurts had great success with the 'tush push' play against the Bucs (Getty Images)The play is nothing new for this season, either. Philadelphia used it throughout their run to the Super Bowl last year before being beaten by Mahomes and the Chiefs.
The Kansas City quarterback shares similar sentiments to what Watt posted on social media earlier this week. "If they weren’t allowed to push from behind, the Eagles would still be just as successful at [quarterback] sneaks," the three-time NFL defensive player of the year said.
"Yes, it helps, but the push isn’t the reason it’s successful. The [offensive line] and Jalen are."
Hurts himself has also addressed the additional scrutiny that the play is attracting. "I have no thoughts on it," the Eagles quarterback replied to a question on the topic during a press conference. "We're the only people doing it as well as we are." That is a stance the team's head coach, Nick Sirianni, shared last week.
“Not everyone has Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens. Not everybody has Jordan Mailata. Not everybody has Lane Johnson on the other side. Not everybody has that type of quarterback,” he said.
Sirianni added: “There is clearly a talent to it that our guys have, because it’s not as — maybe it’s automatic right now for the Philadelphia Eagles — but it’s not automatic around the NFL."