NEW ORLEANS — The Tush Push is basically unstoppable.
Ask most head coaches. Ask most defensive coordinators.
Heck, ask astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
"There's certain phenomena on earth that — once you pass a tipping point — there is no stopping it. The stars will explode. There's no stopping it," deGrasse Tyson told NFL Network in 2024. "What I'm telling you now is the Tush Push formation [is unstoppable]. … Just hang it up. Take it. Let's move on."
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We will, no doubt, see the play on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX as the Philadelphia Eagles crouch in their four-point stances before crunching and smashing and crawling and clawing their way forward into the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts will churn his legs forward. Running back Saquon Barkley will push Hurts' tush.
It's a play that has something for everyone. If you're into the physicality, you'll see plenty of that. If you're into X's and O's, you'll see an Eagles team leveraging its unique strength to invent a formation that no one else can seem to replicate. If you're into physics, you'll see the force, the mass, the acceleration. If you just like big numbers, try these: 1) Philly's offensive line weighs 1,668 pounds, and 2) Barkey and Hurts can each squat 600 pounds.
The question is whether, at any point, the Chiefs will find a way to stop the play.
And you're thinking: But didn't you just tell me it's basically impossible?
I did!
But in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs stoned the Buffalo Bills' quarterback sneak play at a staggering clip. K.C. keyed on the fact that Josh Allen rushed through the left guard every time. So the Chiefs were ready for that. In turn, the defense stopped three of the Bills' five quarterback sneaks, which look — vaguely — like the Tush Push.
Not only have the Chiefs had some success, but the Eagles have hit an unusual dry spell, relatively speaking. This year, their success rate on QB sneaks is 81.3%, which is down from 92.1% in 2023, per FOX Sports research. There are several reasons for that, namely that center Cam Jurgens replaced Jason Kelce, now retired. Kelce played the most crucial role, with the snap and the powerful first push at the line of scrimmage. There was also offseason turnover at right guard, where Mekhi Becton is now the starter.
So … let's just make sure.
Does Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo think the Tush Push can be stopped?
"I really don't. Everybody's gonna tell you the same thing, the best way to defend is not be in that situation, because they're so effective at it," Spagnulolo told FOX Sports on Wednesday. "Their quarterback sneak is really different than Buffalo's, in my opinion. But it just comes down to sheer will. They found a way to out-will people on that particular play. I hope we don't have too many of them. And we have a plan. We'll try to execute it as best we can. But if we have to line up and go first-and-10 after that play, that's what we'll do."
Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Culley wasn't exactly optimistic either.
"It's like riding the wave," he said. "You just get pushed back. You got to stop the surge. Not only stop the surge of the line, that's the most important, but then you're going to stop the surge of the quarterback. That's important. Yeah, we were able to do that [against the Bills], but what we did, because it's one thing to get a surge, but now you get Josh Allen running you over. And the same thing with Hurts."
Wow. Not a lot of faith over in K.C., huh?
But you've seen the headline to the story. I found one Chiefs coach who felt a little more optimistic: Terry Bradden, an assistant defensive line coach tasked with preparing short-yardage situations. And he was especially tight-lipped about details.
"I can't give any nuggets on what we think we're going to try to do," Bradden said. "I think any play can be stopped. I'm just hoping we can stop one."
He added: "It's like force versus force, you know? And that's the biggest thing — who could go lower and have more force by pushing the legs. So it is sorta like rugby, but it's just force versus force."
So again, how might the Chiefs do it?
"I can't tell you," Bradden said with a laugh. "I hope we have a good shot at it."
Hope won't get it done.
But maybe the Chiefs will find success in the X's and O's that Bradden is keeping secret.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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