‘This game was lost in March’: Adam Schefter, former players, and more pundits still really hate the Tush Push
Schefter said on Monday morning that the NFL owners’ failure to ban the Tush Push was the real reason the Chiefs lost on Sunday — not Patrick Mahomes’ fourth-quarter red-zone interception.
The Eagles walked out of Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday with a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl LIX rematch, handing Patrick Mahomes a third consecutive loss for the first time in his career — and leaving the Kansas City Chiefs to start 0-2 for the first time since he’s taken over as the starting quarterback.
It may not have always looked pretty, with the teams combining for just 510 total years and 37 points, but the Eagles are 2-0. Here’s what people are saying after the Birds’ big win …
Tush Push
After an offseason of discourse over the Tush Push, and the league’s eventual decision not to ban the play, Week 2 ramped the conversation right back up again.
The game ended on a Tush Push, which the Chiefs thought ended in a fumble they’d recovered. The officials ultimately gave the Eagles the first down, but the pile of bodies in the fray makes the play tough to officiate.
“I am done with the Tush Push, guys,” rules expert Dean Blandino said on the broadcast when asked what the ruling should be. “It’s a hard play to officiate, like we’ve been talking about, so they either ruled [forward] progress or that Hurts was down. Really hard to see what was going on with the football.”
And he’s hardly the only one in the last 24 hours to disparage the Eagles’ signature sneak play — a play that any other team in the NFL is welcome to attempt, and some did even after voting against it. In fact, there’s been so much anti-Tush Push discourse, it’s starting to feel like a calculated agenda. On Monday morning, one of the sports’ biggest news breakers appeared on ESPN to talk about how it’s essentially ruining the game (it’s not).
“This game was lost in March,” Adam Schefter said on Get Up. “This game was lost when the NFL owners refused to ban the Tush Push from happening. It wasn’t lost yesterday. It was lost in March. There are going to be a lot of games that the Eagles play that were lost in March.
“This play is unstoppable. Not only does the defense not know how to handle it, but even the officials don’t know how to handle it. You’re seeing the Eagles linemen jump offsides every play and nothing’s called!”
Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski wasn’t buying that take from Schefter as genuine.
Schefter also said the quiet part out loud there. Yes, this play is unstoppable — but only when the Eagles run it. And that’s where the problem appears to stem from: one team seemingly getting an advantage over the others, when in reality they’re just better at executing a specific play.
Even before Blandino criticized the play for being difficult to officiate, Tom Brady called out what he saw as a false start on the Fox broadcast.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones also called out what he believed were uncalled Eagles false starts on the play.
“We think he jumped multiple times,” Jones said postgame. “An official didn’t see it, so it wasn’t called.”
» READ MORE: First look at the Eagles’ next opponent: What to know about the Rams for Week 3
Josh Norris with Underdog Fantasy even called the play “slightly cheating,” since the Eagles guards appear to be moving before the ball is snapped, contributing to the effectiveness of the play.
Even former Eagle Hugh Douglas, who supports the play, understood the uproar with the Tush Push after the Birds ran it seven times in Sunday’s game.
“I saw yesterday why people were a little bit upset,” Douglas said. “Listen to what I’m saying. I’m not against the Tush Push. … This morning when I saw all the people complaining about it, and I could see why they were upset.”
Meanwhile, Lane Johnson took to X after Sunday’s win to push back on claims that the line jumps early on the play against former linebacker and current podcaster Will Compton.
The new BG?
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long had high praise for second-year rusher Nolan Smith, who had three tackles and a forced fumble in Sunday’s game.
“Nolan Smith is an absolute dog,” Long said. “He’s one of my favorite players on the Eagles’ defense, because he sets edges, he can rush the passer. He’s going to be their BG from here on out, the do-everything edge who might not wow you with 12 sacks a season, might not make Pro Bowls, but that guy can play football.”
» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts, Kevin Patullo and the Tush Push: Eagles winning ugly is still winning football
Passing offense
Jalen Hurts only had to throw for 101 yards to secure the win over the Chiefs. But after A.J. Brown got just one target in Week 1, and DeVonta Smith led the Birds with just 53 passing yards in Week 2, how concerned should fans be about the passing offense? Seth Joyner says not at all.
“Your team just won the Super Bowl,” Joyner said on 94 WIP. “They just won the Super Bowl. And your team is 2-0. All we do is sit around and [expletive] and complain about, ‘Oh, the offense looks terrible’ … They got the win. That’s all that matters. Shut the hell up!”