Tush Push Just Became Dead Man Walking Thanks to This

The Kansas City Chiefs saw the signature play several times in Sunday's loss.

Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) calls a play at the line of scrimmage against the Kansas City Chiefs during the fourth quarter of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ding dong, the Tush Push is dead. The Brotherly Shove took an abrupt turn toward the fate of the Wicked Witch on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Here are two major reasons the Tush Push just became a dead man walking, with execution scheduled for the 2026 annual league meeting in March.

Steve Spagnuolo

Steve Spagnuolo had two things going for him entering Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the reigning world champions: His mad-scientist brain and a mad familiarity with his opponent. The Chiefs have played the Eagles like a division opponent during his tenure as defensive coordinator. In fact, since the 1970 league merger, Kansas City and Philadelphia are the only inter-conference opponents to play in five consecutive years.

That brain – like Spock from Vulcan – melded with the minds of rugby coaches over the last few years. Results of those meetings were evident on Sunday. The Chiefs stopped it several times, even validated by the league's new virtual measurement on one instance.

Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dean Blandino

The FOX rules analyst and former NFL head of officiating was in the FOX broadcast booth with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady. He also was firmly in the camp wanting to abolish the Eagles’ signature play starring quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“I am done with the Tush Push, guys,” analyzing a play in the fourth quarter on which replays showed Drue Tranquill appearing to take the football from Hurts. “It's a hard play to officiate, like we’ve been talking about.

“So, they either ruled progress or that Hurts was down. Really hard to see what’s happening with the football. We’re inside two (minutes) so replay has looked at this and they’ve determined that there was no fumble.” 

Feb 7, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Dean Blandino at Fox Sports media day at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Earlier in the fourth quarter, replays showed Eagles guards clearly moving ahead of the snap. Officials didn’t throw a flag and Andy Reid was livid.

“Yeah, you try to get penetration is what you try to do,” the head coach said after the game, “and be able to stop it, but that’s a pretty rough one. I might have had a couple of them that they (the Eagles) got off a little early on, but we’ll look at that.”

Death Row timeline

The NFL owners will look at it, too. Proponents of Tush Push abolition include Rams head coach and competition committee member Sean McVay. And the league’s top defense at the moment, Green Bay, led the charge to kill the play last March. Owners narrowly voted to keep it, by two votes.

But don’t be surprised to look back at Sunday’s game as the beginning of the end. Spagnuolo’s defense put more on tape to aid future Eagles opponents than any team previously. Just ask defensive tackle Chris Jones, who knows the Chiefs could very well see the Eagles again in February.

“We actually stopped it a couple times today, more than once,” Jones said after the game. “Even the last one, we thought we had the ball. We stopped them. So, we see them again, hopefully we stop them more.”

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