The Minnesota Vikings tried a new tactic to conquer the Philadelphia Eagles’ practically unstoppable “tush push” play.
Late in the first quarter of their afternoon showdown, the Eagles lined up to run the tush push on a 3rd-and-1 situation. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, a renowned mastermind of crafty defensive play calls, just might have drawn up the perfect solution.
Flores had linebacker Tyler Batty (6-foot-6 and 271 pounds) lie down as a “shield” to block Jalen Hurts’ target of the first-down marker. Check it out:
Some unhappy fans and analysts have called for the NFL to ban the tush push play, but the idea has never gained much traction from NFL owners. And for some reason, opposing teams just haven’t been able to run it as successfully and smoothly as the Eagles.
Interestingly, the NFL admitted that the officials missed false start penalties against the Eagles while they ran the tush push play against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. The refs have been keeping a closer eye on it, but the play remains, nonetheless, almost impossible to stop.
