The Dallas Cowboys became the latest team to give the tush push a try. Like many other teams not named the Philadelphia Eagles, it came up short.
The Eagles have become renowned for their ability to execute the play, which is basically just a quarterback sneak in which players push the signal-caller from behind. Philadelphia has executed the play well in part because of how powerful a runner Jalen Hurts is, but also because of how well they organize it.
Dallas tried just before the two-minute warning in the first half of Monday’s win over the Chargers. Prescott was stopped by Los Angeles on 4th-and-1, joking after the game that it failed because “they didn’t push my tush enough.”
Jerry Jones reacted to the play call Tuesday on Shan & RJ .
“Well, I was surprised,” Jones said. “I’m all for it, and I like the play. I think Dak is an excellent sneaker and I was just surprised that we were stopped. But I completely agree with that’s the play to run.”
The play has been a controversial one, with some teams said to be in favor of banning the play. It's akin to a rugby scrum, and there are concerns about injuries to the quarterback, in particular.
Jones is not in that camp.
“No I’m OK with it, I like the play,” Jones said. “I think there’s a place for the play, and I think you’ve got some options to run off of. You can talk about the injury to the quarterback, (but you can) do the tush push with somebody other than the starting quarterback under center.
“There are a lot of ways to put this thing, but I’m all for implementing the emphasis on the scrum, the traditional scrum that you normally think the NFL and football in general and college is trying to avoid – that doesn’t bother me as much on this play.”