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The Tush Push Now Belongs to the Buffalo Bills
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Things change pretty fast in the NFL. It wasn’t long ago that the tush push was the Eagles’ signature play, and was deployed so dominantly that league owners nearly banned it from playbooks. Remember that? Remember how fun that was? When all the Birds had to do was get to around 4th and 2, and we all knew in our hearts they were about to convert? It wasn’t even a worry. It was automatic. Sometimes those tush push piles would move the ball forward like six yards. That’s how I remember it, anyway.
Jason Kelce would somehow clear out like five bodies. Jalen Hurts would sail over the pile, floating above the helpless defense, completely unscathed… It was beautiful…
And now look at us. Look at this shit. It’s awful:
The Eagles are 1-for-2 on tush pushes this year. Isn’t that nuts? Through 4 weeks, they’ve only run it twice. The Eagles used to run this so much, and now it seems they’ve lost all confidence in it. For good reason, too. It’s simply not as effective as it was. Defenses play it better. The offensive line has been banged up. In just two years’ time, the “Brotherly Shove” went from the Birds’ secret weapon to not even being a tool in their toolbox.
Meanwhile, the Bills have only gotten better at it. Through Week 4, Buffalo is 10-for-10 on the tush push:
Look at that tush push… The perfect execution… Remember when that was us…
There’s a good lesson in here somewhere. Something about how time keeps marching on whether we want it to or not. Something about the universe’s utter indifference to our hopes and dreams. How it’s on each of us as individuals to actively cultivate gratitude and appreciate when things are good (the 2024 Eagles season, when they went 39-of-48 on tush pushes for an 81.3% success rate), because in this life, it simply doesn’t last…
Enjoy it while you can, Buffalo, because someday your tush push is going to look like this – and from experience, I can tell you it’ll happen sooner than you think:
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com