play
Schrager on the tush push: 'It's not how we want to watch football' (1:11)
Peter Schrager says the tush push is not aesthetically pleasing and it's not want fans want to see. (1:11)
Tim McManusSep 18, 2025, 09:17 PM ET
- Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine's Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010.
The NFL said the Philadelphia Eagles should have been flagged for at least one false start when they used the tush push against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and instructed officials this week to call the controversial play "tight" going forward.
The message from the league, which was first reported by The Washington Post and later confirmed by ESPN, came in its training tape to officials, which was distributed to all 32 teams Wednesday.
The NFL showed the Eagles running the QB sneak on third-and-short late in the fourth quarter for a first down in an eventual 20-17 win in Kansas City.
"Anytime we have this situation we're in short yardage, we know we want to make sure that we officiate these plays -- the offensive team has to be perfect in every aspect," NFL vice president of officiating training and development Ramon George said, according to the Post. "We want to officiate it tight. We want to be black and white and be as tight as we can be when we get into this situation where teams are in the bunch position and we have to officiate them being onsides, movement early.
"Prior to the snap, looks like we have movement by the right guard. We also have movement coming across from the defensive side. This is a very hard play to officiate. I get it."
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game that the Eagles "might have had a couple [QB sneak plays] that they got off a little early on," putting further scrutiny on the play. Fox analyst Tom Brady also suggested during the broadcast that Eagles offensive linemen were getting off the line of scrimmage before the snap but weren't penalized.
Philadelphia ran the tush push six times Sunday, gaining four first downs and scoring a touchdown.
"I've heard a million different takes on this thing, and it's driving me nuts," Eagles center Cam Jurgens said Wednesday. "People saying I'm lining up offsides. I'm holding the ball. I can be on the ball. That doesn't make any sense to me.
"At the end of the day, we're not trying to worry about what other teams or people are saying. We're trying to worry about what we're doing in here. If the league wants to come down and say something and make an emphasis with the rules, we're going to take that into account. But it's the same thing going forward, playing Eagle football."
The play faced banishment this offseason, but the proposal failed by two votes. The final vote was 22-10 on the proposal, which was submitted by the Green Bay Packers, at the NFL's annual meeting in Eagan, Minnesota, in May. The proposal needed 24 votes to pass.
The Eagles have converted the play 96.6% of the time in fourth-and-1 scenarios since 2022.
