Eagles Find Shocking Ally in Tush Push Controversy

It feels like everyone outside of Philadelphia is fed up with the Eagles’ tush push. The Chiefs complained. ESPN’s Adam Schefter complained. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher complained. And the list keeps growing.

After the Eagles’ 20-17 win over the Chiefs on Sunday — with a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown coming via the tush push, where a couple of offensive linemen appeared to jump early — the play once again dominated NFL conversations.

Many argue the tush push should be banned, which nearly happened this offseason. The Packers’ proposal got 22 votes, just two shy of the 24 required to pass. For now, though, the tush push feels like it’s living on borrowed time.

But then came an unlikely twist: Joe Buck, the longtime broadcaster and ESPN’s Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer, publicly defended the controversial play during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America.

When GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Buck to make the case for banning the tush push, Buck didn’t hesitate.

“No. No, I can’t,” Buck replied. “As the league says and as the Eagles say, stop it. Figure out a way to stop it. Or figure out a way to do it.”

Buck went on to highlight Jalen Hurts’ rare physical strength as the real X-factor.

“The difference is the Eagles have a quarterback who’s running (the tush push) who can squat over 600 pounds,” Buck said. “They’ve got a guy who can do it, and nobody can stop it. So too bad.”

So, at least the Eagles now have one national voice in their corner.

Adding more intrigue: the Eagles are set to face the Packers — the very team that proposed banning the tush push — on Monday Night Football on Nov. 10, with Buck himself on the call.

For longtime Philadelphia fans, this all comes as a surprise. Joe Buck has carried a reputation for “hating” Philly sports, at least in the eyes of thousands who have heard him call Eagles and Phillies games.

But now, Buck has become the Eagles’ most unlikely ally in defending the NFL’s most controversial play.