Despite 22 of the NFL teams not succeeding at stopping one of the most dominant plays in the NFL with the Tush Push, the Philadelphia Eagles might not be as mighty with one yard needed as some think.
Since 2022, the Eagles' go-to short-yard play has been the Tush Push, which was a topic of discussion this offseason in a controversial way. Two votes in the last month have been made on whether the play should be banned as it has "player safety" concerns. Neither vote went through, including on Wednesday, which made it official that Philadelphia can use the play in 2025.
According to USA Today, the Eagles converted 39 of 48 Tush Push plays in 2024 that ended in either first downs or touchdowns. That should be enough to show how good the Eagles are with just one yard needed. Right?
FOX Sports stat debunks Eagles' status as the best on short yards
FOX Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman's recent article shows that the Eagles are not the best team at third or fourth-and-one and that their Super Bowl MVP, Jalen Hurts, isn't the best quarterback in that stat. The only stat that Hurts was number one at was the number of conversions attempted last year from one yard out, with 22.
Auman shared that Hurts is ranked fourth among quarterbacks in conversion rate at 81%. It turns out Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was the best at it, converting 100% of his third or fourth-and-one plays. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished second with 94%, and Denver Broncos' Bo Nix was third with 86%.
The Eagles were only ranked third in third or fourth-and-one plays as a team, as they converted 76.7% of those situations. Once again, the rival Commanders did it best with an 88% conversion rate, and the Bills were second with 77.3%
This should stop the Tush Push ban initiative, but it won't
The stats show that the Tush Push isn't an automatic play that must be removed from the game. Clearly, the Commanders and Bills have been able to find ways to be successful despite Buffalo's use of the infamous Eagles play with Allen.
This won't end any talks of the Tush Push needing to be banned, despite the stats showing otherwise. Teams like the Green Bay Packers and Bills will continue to harp on player safety, and while that is important, former Eagles center Jason Kelce should have cleared that up with his speech to the owners on Wednesday.
Auman did share one more stat from last year regarding the Tush Push that Eagles fans will love.
"Five times all season, Hurts was stopped on third/fourth-and-1, and four of those times, the Eagles were stopped on third-and-1 for no gain, only to move the chains on fourth-and-1 from the same formation on the next play."
The league will continue its pursuit of stopping the play, but until it is dead, the Eagles will run that play into the ground with a smile on their face.
-1741756090-q80.webp "Flyers GM Danny Briere Details How the Scott Laughton Trade to the Leafs Unfolded")
