By Nick Tricome
Copyright phillyvoice
The Eagles beat the Chiefs on Sunday, 20-17.
They ran the Tush Push, like they always do, to a near-perfect rate of success that only they can seem to achieve.
And the play, like it always does, became the subject of scorn and controversy across the rest of the NFL world the day after.
The league owners tried to ban the Tush Push in the offseason. They couldn’t get the vote and failed, so it lives at least through this season, while continuing to frustrate whoever plays Jalen Hurts and the Eagles that respective week.
But now the argument is trying to shift again, it seems.
Before, it was injury concerns. Opposers to the push wanted to claim that the play was too dangerous, but never had the data strong enough to prove it.
Now? Officials apparently can’t be bothered to deal with it anymore.
Dean Blandino, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating and FOX Sports’ current rules analyst, said late into the game’s broadcast on Sunday that “I am done with the Tush Push, guys. It’s a hard play to officiate,” after the Eagles ran it to ice their victory. Somewhat curiously, that clip was captured and uploaded to FOX’s social media channels:
At the same time, debate and criticism were rampant throughout social media during the game about the play’s legality and all the penalties that resulted from it, and yet were missed.
The upload of a clip to the NFL’s subreddit, for example, was made to highlight how many Eagles offensive linemen had committed a false start before the snap:
That same thought came up elsewhere, too:
Even so, the new can of worms regarding the Tush Push might have been opened.
Monday morning on ESPN’s “Get Up,” the network’s NFL insider Adam Schefter wanted to argue that Sunday’s result in Kansas City was decided way back in March, when the Tush Push ban vote failed:
Former cornerback Devin McCourty fell back on “aesthetics” and the Tush Push not looking like a “football play” while speaking on Kay Adams’ show:
But the counter-argument to that: Well, if the Tush Push is impossible for NFL refs to officiate, wouldn’t that come off as an admission that NFL refs can’t officiate NFL football more than aynthing?
Eagles fans, brace yourselves for 16 more weeks, and then some, of this.
In the meantime, here’s this great soundbite from Hurts as he was kneeling out the clock to Jones:
MORE: How the Commish Stole the Tush Push – A Children’s Book
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