Jason Kelce Weighs in on 'Tush Push' Debate: 'Ban It'

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is tired of debating the "Tush Push."

But that doesn't mean the conversation around the play is going away any time soon. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to permanently ban Philadelphia's infamous quarterback sneak strategy, according to a report over the weekend by The Athletic. The controversial play in question, also dubbed the "Brotherly Shove," has faced cries to be outlawed from around the league for safety reasons and because, well, the Eagles run it so much better than everyone else.

Jason Kelce wasn't overly concerned about potentially losing the go-to play during the latest episode of his New Heights podcast with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. In fact, the elder Kelce brother, in a back-and-forth discussion with Travis, said bring it on.

"Once the commish starts talking about it and saying he wants to get it done, it's gonna get done," Travis said to his brother in Wednesday's episode. "Mr. Goodell just made all our lives a little easier in the NFL outside of the Eagles organization. Jason, do you fully expect it to be banned next season at this point? Are you just sick of the debate?"

"Listen, ban it," Jason said. "I really, at this point, I don't care. I'm over the discussion about it."

"To be fair, it would just be banning like the push in the back," Travis said. "Everybody would still be able to run the QB sneak, I think."

"Well that's where I'm kinda like, 'whatever,'" Jason said. "We were really good at running the quarterback sneak before we did the push. I don't think that it's a necessary part for it. It certainly helps, there's no question about it.

"I don't have the energy to care about whether it gets banned or not. We're gonna run it right now because we're good at it and it's effective. And whatever they do next season, we'll figure out a way to do something at a high level and make it effective."

The Eagles often run the "Tush Push" in short-yardage situations. It involves a rugby-like scrum that pushes the QB—Jalen Hurts in Philly's case—from behind. And when Philadelphia runs the play, the boost—Jason Kelce and company clearing space up front—often offers enough force for Hurts to get a first down or touchdown.

Any team around the league can run the "Brotherly Shove." Some have. But none of the NFL's other 31 teams have had Philadelphia's level of success.

Philly leads the NFL with a 73.7 percent fourth-down conversion rate this season. No other team is even at 70 percent. Last season, the Eagles converted 37 of their 41 quarterback sneak attempts into either first downs or touchdowns, according to CBS Sports.

And Philadelphia is well aware of the offensive weapon it has at its disposal.

"Every first down, it's first-and-nine," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after a Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins. "Knowing that you get to fourth-and-1, shoot, a lot of faith in that play."

As Jason pointed out to Travis on the episode, the Eagles were already efficient at running QB sneaks before transitioning to the "Tush Push."

Former offensive lineman and current NFL analyst Brian Baldinger covered the topic in one of his "Baldy Breakdowns" and revealed the Eagles were 36-of-38 running traditional sneaks with Carson Wentz under center. The common denominator, Baldinger said on X, formerly Twitter, for the Eagles is having an elite center up front.

The NFL's competition committee discussed outlawing the play last offseason but opted to keep it. The expectation is that may not be the case once this season ends. And that will be that, the Eagles center said.

"If it's for a health reason, I don't think a lot of guys get injured on it, so I don't think that's a good reason," Jason said to Travis. "If it's for an unfair advantage, we've already seen other teams do it at not as good of a success level. So I don't know that it's that big of a competitive advantage.

"If they do ban the "Brotherly Shove," there will be a good reason behind it that the commissioner wants to get done. Whether people agree with it or not, it is what it is. And we move forward."