The Eagles can thank the controversial “tush push” for another touchdown.
Philadelphia employed the play on first-and-goal just before the end of the first half against the Rams to take a 17-14 lead.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts — with the help of a “brotherly shove” — got into the end zone as the clock expired.
There had been plenty of focus on the tactic, which has become a source of annoyance for opposing teams, but the play hasn’t been deemed illegal.
The Eagles have utilized the play to get plenty of first downs and touchdowns the past two seasons.
They had run the “tush push” 37 times going into Sunday’s Week 5 matchup, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
They had successfully converted on 34 of their 37 attempts using the play.
Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald had told ESPN that he did have a plan to stop the “tush push.”
“Get as low as you can and just get off full speed,” he said. “That’s it. That’s it. Make it powerful.”
Whatever the Rams used to try and stop it didn’t seem to work in that instance.
The Eagles had indicated going into this week’s game that they wouldn’t give up on their proven strategy until the league bans it.
“We knew the rules,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. “Any time we put a play in that maybe not a lot of people run and that there could be anything within the rules, we’ll always look into that. We knew the rules, and that was completely legal, and it’s been a good play for us, a really good play for us because the guys make it go and make it work.”
After the success of it again on Sunday, it would be hard to imagine that the Eagles plan on changing things up any time soon.
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