Thanks to a strong defensive performance and a good-enough effort on the offensive end, the Eagles prevailed in a Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 2. But apparently, some in the national media are pushing forth the narrative that Philadelphia, which ran the tush push play six times to great success against Kansas City, won simply because of the controversial play.
And that didn't sit right with Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata.
Mailata, during an appearance on 94 WIP Sportsradio on Tuesday, said that while he understood the "outrage" over the tush push play, he couldn't wrap his head around it being anointed as the reason Philadelphia won the game.
"I understand the outrage [over the tush push]," Mailata said. "What I don’t understand is them using it as an excuse to why we won the game. 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."
The Eagles ran the tush push six times on Sunday, scoring the crucial go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter off the play and notching four first downs, including the game-icing third down conversion, utilizing the much-maligned play. ESPN's Adam Schefter, during an appearance on the morning debate show , claimed that the Chiefs lost the game "in March" when the tush push, which was put up for an owners vote for a potential ban from the league—or at least a significant altering of the rules—was not banned. Former Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Cowher was also among the critics of the play, pointing out, as many did on social media, that some members of Philadelphia's offensive line appeared to jump early before the snap but were not penalized. Cowher also said it's "not a football play."
But it doesn't seem to be anyone in particular who is irking Mailata—just the whole conversation surrounding Philadelphia's win, which improved the team to 2-0.
"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, 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," Mailata continued. "You know I think it’s bullcrap. I just think it’s rubbish.
"Absolute rubbish, man. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it."
The initial proposal to ban the play, put forth by the Packers, was tabled during the annual league meeting in April but put forth to a vote at the spring meetings in May. 22 teams voted to ban the play, falling just short of the 24 votes the NFL requires to institute a rule change. In 2022 and 2023, Philadelphia boasted an 86 percent success rate using the tush push, 10 percent better than league average. Last season, the Eagles converted the play 96.6 percent of the time when facing a fourth-and-1 situation, according to ESPN.
The Eagles next take on the Rams in a rematch of the NFC divisional round matchup from January 2025.
