Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata has heard plenty of chatter about the team’s ‘Tush Push’ play being the reason they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the teams’ Week 2 Super Bowl 59 rematch.
The 28-year-old strongly disagrees with that assessment, as he made clear during an appearance on 94 WIP Sports Radio.
‘I understand the outrage,’ Mailata said, referencing the efficacy of the Tush Push. ‘What I don’t understand is them using it as an excuse to why we won the game.’
Why does Mailata feel that way?
‘I think it’s incredibly disrespectful to our defense and our special teams who balled out, and my brothers on defense and special teams who balled out that game, who had our backs when we weren’t moving the ball or weren’t doing anything,’ he said.
‘Tush Push’ face criticism from NFL world after Eagles win
Mailata’s comments come as the Tush Push has faced heavy criticism following the Eagles’ Week 2 victory. NFL fans and analysts alike noted Philadelphia seemed to be lining up offsides on some of their seven Tush Pushes while the interior offensive linemen also appeared to be getting away with false starts.
Fox color commentator Tom Brady even pointed out the latter issue, saying it appeared both of Philadelphia’s guards left early on one of the team’s fourth-quarter Tush Push attempts.
Fox’s rule analyst and former NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino later chimed in with his opinion of the play after a video review of the play in the game’s final two minutes.
‘I am done with the Tush Push, guys,’ Blandino said on the Fox broadcast. ‘This is – it’s a hard play to officiate.’
From there, the Tush Push became a national talking point, with many media pundits scrutinizing the advantages the Eagles get from their ability to execute the play at a high level.
That included ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who wholly credited the NFL’s decision not to ban the Tush Push with allowing the Eagles to once again beat the Chiefs.
‘The biggest thing here, to me, is that this game was lost in March,’ Schefter said Monday on ‘Get Up.’ ‘This game was lost when the NFL owners refused to ban the Tush Push from happening. It wasn’t lost yesterday, it was lost in March. And there might be a lot of games that the Eagles play that are lost in March, because this play is unstoppable.
‘Not only does the defense not know how to handle it, but even the officials don’t know how to handle it. You’re seeing the Eagles linemen jump offsides every play and nothing’s called. So, the officials have no idea, defenses have no idea and the Eagles get to do whatever they want on every single play in the Tush Push. And I know people hate it, but they have mastered it.’
Why ‘Tush Push’ discourse bothers Jordan Mailata
Mailata explained he tries to avoid discourse about the Tush Push in the rare occasions he is on social media. However, occasionally a rogue post slips into the 2024 All-Pro second teamer’s timeline and ‘kinda irks [him] a little bit.’
‘That pisses me off because we give so much to this game, and to kind of base off a short-yardage play, that is a football play,’ Mailata said, with his voice climbing up an octave. ‘And say that we won the game off that, but not how our defense played and not how our special teams have played, putting us in those positions. You know I think it’s bullcrap.’
Nonetheless, Mailata knows conversations about the Tush Push will continue to surround the Eagles during the 2025 NFL season. It also figures to once again be a topic of discussion for the NFL Competition Committee following the season.
But as long as the Tush Push remains legal, the Eagles figure to keep running the play consistently and effectively.
And Mailata will continue to make it clear how he views any assertion that the Eagles are winning games largely based on that play.
‘I just think it’s rubbish. Absolute rubbish, man,’ Mailata said. ‘It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.’