The Philadelphia Eagles are already the defending Super Bowl champions, but on Wednesday, the team celebrated another big victory as NFL owners decided against banning the “tush push” at the league’s annual spring meeting in Minnesota. Monitor the Eagles Super Bowl odds accordingly, folks.
Critics of the play, also known as the “brotherly shove,” say that it’s too difficult to stop and that the offense gets an advantage in pushing the ball carrier – usually the quarterback – while the defense would be penalized if linebackers pushed their defensive linemen teammates to counter.
With the play still legal for the 2025 NFL season, PennStakes.com wanted to find out just how effective the play has been for the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles over the past three seasons, which dates to when the team first used it.
We identified stats from FOX Sports, ESPN and PhiladelphiaEagles.com reports. In addition, we used Pro-Football-Reference.com to see how often the Eagles converted third downs, fourth down and red zone touchdowns in the past three seasons and the three seasons before the team made the play an integral part of the offense.
Year |
Tush Pushes Tried |
Tush Pushes Converted |
Success Rate |
2024 |
48 |
39 |
81.25% |
2023 |
42 |
35 |
83.33% |
2022 |
39 |
36 |
92.31% |
While the Eagles’ success rate has dropped off each year, Jeff Kerr of CBS Philadelphia pointed out that in eight of the times the play failed to convert a first down or touchdown, the Eagles ran it again on the very next play and succeeded.
According to ESPN, the Eagles and the Buffalo Bills have been the primary s of the play that looks like a rugby scrum, with those two teams running it 163 times since 2022. Across the league, though, the tush push ed for less than .3% of all plays run last season.
Moments after news broke that the “tush push” remained legal, DraftKings Sportsbook PA posted on X that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has odds of -125 for scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys when the teams meet for the NFL season opener in September.
Year |
3rd Down Conversions |
4th Down Conversions |
Red Zone TDs |
2024 |
41.7% (Rank -10) |
70.4% (4) |
57.4% (13) |
2023 |
48% (3) |
73.1% (1) |
60% (9) |
2022 |
45.9% (4) |
68.8% (4) |
67.8% (3) |
2021 |
45.7% (4) |
45.8% (25) |
62.3% (8) |
2020 |
37.3% (28) |
42.9% (27) |
60.9% (15) |
2019 |
45.4% (4) |
33.3% (28) |
66.7% (3) |
Just one look at the chart above and you can see where exactly the play has benefitted the Eagles. In the three seasons pre-push, Philadelphia was among the league’s worst teams in converting fourth downs. Now, it’s one of the best.
Last season, the Eagles attempted to convert a fourth down 27 times. They succeeded on 19. Six years earlier, they were just 8-for-24. It’s apparent the “brotherly shove” has helped the team tremendously. In 2019, Philly scored 385 points, an average of 24.1 points over the 16-game regular season. In 2024, the team scored 463 in 17 regular-season games, a 27.2 ppg average.
But the “tush push” does not need to lead to points for it to succeed. Using the play to get a yard or two keeps the Eagles offense on the field and allows the defense to rest some more. In addition, converting one late in the game while they’re ahead means the Eagles won’t be forced to punt or turn the ball over on downs and give their opponents a chance to win the game or force overtime.
Will the owners’ decision not to ban the play lead to more teams adopting it? If so, how might that affect the Eagles’ chance to repeat as Super Bowl champs? At BetMGM, Hurts and his Eagles teammates are the favorites to win next year’s Super Bowl, with oddsmakers pricing them at +650.
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USA Today photo by Mark J. Rebilas.
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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