Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have re-defined short-yardage plays this season with the 'Tush Push,' known in Philly as the 'Brotherly Shove.' It's exactly what it sounds like: a collective push of the quarterback when the offense needs a yard. It's automatic, as the Eagles have demonstrated, when you have one of the best offensive lines in football and your quarterback is built like a horse. Hurts squats a casual 600 pounds.
We are guessing Jared Goff does not. Still, the Lions, who boast an elite offensive line of their own, have seen the Tush Push work and might be the next team to break it out. Hopefully they fare better than the others. While the Eagles have made the play look easy, the Giants, Patriots and Chargers have all failed spectacularly this season trying to mimic it. (The Giants actually had two players get hurt during their botched attempt this week on Monday Night Football.)
"We have thought about it," Dan Campbell said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "We’ve talked about doing it, we could do it. I just don’t want to break Jared Goff. There’s a time to do it, but I also don’t want to put him in a suitcase and fold him backwards and crack him in half and he’s sitting between two tight ends, a halfback, their defensive line and linebackers. But when needed, we can do it, we have it and we’ve talked about it. We’ll have some wrinkles up our sleeve as the season goes on here."
Goff has a much different build than Hurts, who probably has the strongest legs of any quarterback in the NFL. That's a key ingredient in the Tush Push, no matter who's pushing in front of Hurts and behind him. Asked about the possibility of tush pushing, Goff said Wednesday, "Sure, I’d be fine with it."
"They’re pretty dang good at it there in Philly," he said. "Everyone knows it’s the quarterback being strong, but up front they get so low and they’re able to dive under everybody and he’s able to fall forward. They’re really good at it, but yeah, if we have to use it, it’ll be fine. I feel like I can get a yard if I have to."