The Philadelphia Eagles start every set of downs with an advantage: Knowing if they get to fourth-and-short, they’ll convert a first down.
“It’s first-and-9 every down,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said following Sunday night’s 31-17 victory over Miami. “Every first down, it’s first-and-9. Knowing that if you get to fourth-and-1, shoot, a lot of faith in that play. So, it was awesome. Again, Jason Kelce starts it off. Jalen Hurts was right there. Because you’ve seen it across the league that people can’t do it like we can do it. They can’t do it like we can do it.”
No, they can’t — as evidenced by others getting stuffed or hurt weekly attempting to pull off the “Brotherly Shove” or “Tush Push” or whatever you want to call the unstoppable quarterback sneak the Eagles have perfected.
Discussions are happening nearly every week about whether the NFL should consider banning the play that gives Philly a distinct advantage. But the fact that other teams try to mimic the Eagles’ success but come up short underscores Sirianni’s argument against outlawing a play simply because one team is better at it.
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“So, I’m making my plug right there,” Sirianni continued. “Like, don’t ban this play. Like, if everyone could do it, everybody would. Where is the camera? If everybody could do it, everybody would do it.”
Sunday night displayed just how advantageous the play is for Philly.
Holding a seven-point lead over the explosive Dolphins, Miami forced a fourth-and-1 at the Eagles’ 26-yard-line. It’s safe to presume 99% of teams punt in that scenario rather than risk giving the opponent the ball in scoring position in a seven-point game. Not Philly.
After initially sending out his punting unit, Sirianni took a timeout, reconsidered and shipped Hurts and the offense back out for the sneak, which worked for a fresh set of downs.
“I didn’t know what the down and distance was exactly,” Sirianni explained of his need to call a timeout before the decision. “I think initially I thought it was a little bit further back than it was, and then I got a good look of where the spot was. I didn’t love that I had to call a timeout there. I had to get a second look at where the spot was. I thought initially it was two, but it was more like a yard.
“I thought to myself, well, I would being crazy if I don’t go for it on fourth-and-1 with the type of guys we have. Again, goes back to the dudes that we got and making the play.”
That’s the thing about the Eagles’ push; it’s so automatic, Sirianni would be crazy not to use it to his advantage.
Three plays after conversion at the 26, Philly faced another fourth-and-1 at the 37. Sirianni didn’t hesitate this time, calling the sneak to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, including a deep connection between Hurts and A.J. Brown, Kenneth Gainwell was dancing in the end zone after the game-sealing TD.
Instead of the Dolphins getting the ball back down seven with about 10 minutes to go, Philly used the QB sneak to extend the drive an extra five minutes and push the lead to 14. That’s a championship-type of advantage.
Opponents know they must keep the Eagles out of fourth-and-short for any chance to get Hurts and Co. off the field.
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