Eagles Legend Nick Foles Identifies Two Big Reasons NFL Shouldn't Ban Tush Push

Foles's comments came during an appearance on 'Front Office Sports Today.'

Foles is best known in Philadelphia for leading the Eagles through the playoffs and to victory in Super Bowl LII as the team's backup quarterback. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

As the debate around the tush push—the Eagles' controversial short yardage play—heats up once again, Philly legend Nick Foles has weighed in with two reasons why the league shouldn't ban the maneuver.

For starters, "It's just because the Eagles are so good at it" that people want to nix it, Foles said during a Monday appearance on Front Office Sports Today. "I know they have to officiate it right, and if there's false starts they gotta call 'em, but you can't get rid of a play just because a team can't be stopped on it."

Moreover, "I think it also creates a fun energy throughout the league," Foles continued. "Any time it's fourth-and-1 or third-and-1, you know what's coming. It's like, who's gonna be the first one to stop it? You can't stop Jalen Hurts running the tush push with that O-line and the guys behind him."

Watch those remarks below starting at 12:31:

As for whether the tush push only works because of Jalen Hurts, Foles posited that the offensive line is really the key to the play's success.

"Jalen Hurts is so good at doing it," Foles said. "He's a little bit smaller than us [Foles and former Philly QB Carson Wentz], but he squats way more than we ever did. He's a powerful runner, fierce runner. I think the key, though, to the tush push, and he would tell you this as well, is the O-line. The O-line does a great job of getting leverage early."

The tush push was on the hot seat this past offseason, but a motion to ban the play ultimately failed in a league-wide vote. Given the Eagles' successful usage of the maneuver so far this season, however, as well as some issues with missed false starts, calls for its head have re-emerged. Will owners side with Foles when the vote is inevitably levied again? Or will Hurts's tush have seen its last push come the end of the football year?

Strap in for another few months of debate.

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