Nick Sirianni Finds 'Joy When Other Teams Fail' At Copying Philadelphia Eagles Tush Push
The NFL is a copycat league and the latest and most prevalent proof of that is teams have invested a lot of time and effort to replicate the so-called Tush Push quarterback sneak coach Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles have been using with great success.
The Eagles have tried the tush push 42 times in five games this season. They've converted a first down or scored a touchdown on 38 of those attempts.
So the Eagles succeed with the play over 90 percent of the time.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 01: Philadelphia Eagles run the tush push for a first down during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders on October 1, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Eagles Tush Push Historically Good
And nobody else does. Not even close.
Sirianni was asked about the Tush Push on the latest version of The 5 Spot with Donovan McNabb (and me) and you cannot imagine how proud the Eagles coach is of his team's signature play.
And how gleeful he gets thinking that not many others can make it work for them.
"What I like, what I like, is when I watch other teams unsuccessfully try to do it," Sirianni said. "Like we're historically good at it. Let's make sure that's understood. We're historically good at it. And what makes us historically good at it is that our offense does an unbelievable job of getting to third-and-1.
"Like, why did you have five quarterback sneaks in this game this last game? Well, because we were in third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 more than anybody else. That's a big deal, right? That's a big deal."
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 14: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) scores on a tush push play during the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles on September 14, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sirianni: Eagles Have The Horses For Tush Push
The Eagles indeed used the Tush Push five times against the Los Angeles Rams including on a first-and-goal situation from the 1 yard line with two seconds remaining in the first half.
Hurts scored on the play.
Other teams have tried to grasp similar success. But their conversion rate has been, well, there are no official NFL stats on the matter. But let's agree no team is anywhere near 90 percent conversion rate. Probably not even 55 percent conversion rate.
What do you think of that, Nick?
"I find joy when teams are unsuccessful at it," he said "Because it ain't that easy, right? Regardless. Knowing how successful the Eagles are at it, how successful we are at it, there's a reason. And the reason is I got six of them: Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, Lane Johnson, alright, Cam Jurgens, Jordan Mailata, and oh, Jalen Hurts squats 600 pounds.
"And if that wasn't enough Kenny Gainwell's got his hand right on him and he's pushing him forward and so's Dallas Goedert. But if it was that easy, everybody would be successful at it. But they're not because of the players that we have and the fundamentals. Like, I really think about it in the growth mindset."
Nick Sirianni has seen great success with the Eagles' tush push. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images).
Sirianni Loving The Opponents' Tush Push Fail
"Growth mindset" is something they Eagles talk about often. They chase it and have seen it ih in the quarterback sneak.
"We talked about it last week as a team," Sirianni said. "That there's a growth mindset to it. If you look at our quarterback sneaks from two years ago, they look completely different than what's going on now because we've continued to grow in this play.
"And you know what, there's a lot of reasons why its good but it really does start up front, it starts with Jalen, and I do, I'll say it again: I find joy when other teams fail. They fail at this play."
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