The words Jason Kelce would utter every time the Eagles ran the ‘Tush Push’
It was not his favorite play
Kelce is set to retire after 13 seasons in the NFL.Lapresse
Jason Kelce is ending his illustrious NFL career after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Only an official announcement from the 36-year-old center is missing, but his final game was Monday night’s 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to end Super Wild Card Weekend — Philadelphia‘s sixth defeat in seven games to end its season.
Kelce and his brother Travis have recently found major success by co-hosting the “New Heights” podcast, which discusses their teams’ performances, action around the NFL, and the brothers’ personal lives. One anecdote the two may discuss soon is the Eagles‘ infamous “Tush Push” play — which became one of the NFL’s most unstoppable plays over the past three years.
Emotional Jason Kelce leaves locker room for the last time after Eagles lose
Kelce was not a fan of the Tush Push
The Tush Push — also known as the “Brotherly Shove” — resulted in a successful outcome (usually a one-yard run) more than 90 percent of the times that the Eagles ran it since the start of the 2022 season. Kelce, a burly center who rarely was called for penalties, was an integral part of its success, leading quarterback Jalen Hurts and the players flanking him past the sticks or into the end zone.
But the Tush Push is a brutal play, and Kelce would often end up at the bottom of a pile of players after snapping the ball to Hurts. That is perhaps one reason why Kelce would shout “f**k my life” every time it was called in a short-yardage situation.
The Bucs had an answer
The Tush Push’s success has bedeviled almost every NFL defense, and the league has toyed with the idea of banning the play outright. However, there is one team that found a way to stop it at a crucial time of the season.
The Buccaneers and hulking Vita Vea stuffed Hurts at the goal line on Monday night when the Eagles attempted a Tush Push as part of a two-point conversion try during the second quarter. It was the second time during the 2023 season that Vea got home to snuff out the play — the previous time was in Week 3, when the Bucs lost to the Eagles at Raymond James Stadium.
Without future Hall of Fame inductee Kelce to anchor the offensive line in 2024, the Eagles may have to reconfigure their trademark offensive play for next season to prevent it from becoming predictable — unless the NFL outlaws the Tush Push entirely.
