Richie Gray, a Scotsman who helped the Eagles master Tush Push, was not joking when he said, “Nobody else in the world is doing what I do.” It’s not that the other NFL teams are not allowed to do Tush Push or what many call a brotherly shove. In fact, 19 other teams also have access to Gray’s methods. But so far, only Philadelphia has managed to truly master this play, simply because they’re the only team built with all the right components to execute this iconic play to perfection.

Per Gray, who improvised Tush Push along with Philly’s O-line coach Jeff Stoutland, if any one team wants to perfect this play, they need to be equally good at all three levels. “Firstly, the offensive line. You’ve got some phenomenal O-line athletes at the Eagles, one of the heaviest in the league… You’ve then got Jalen Hurts, who is pound-for-pound one of the strongest quarterbacks in the league, so the play is completely made for his body type,” Gray explains. Add two players lining up behind Hurts to sell the illusion of a push, and the job is done even before the opponents know. Gray classifies this as an “organised mass.”

To add how crucial Tush Push has been for the Eagles, Nick Sirianni’s team has scored 30 TDs with 90% accuracy in 1-yard-to-go situations since 2022. So, it was no wonder that the other 22 NFL teams wanted this play to be banned during the owners’ meeting last month. After the Eagles legend Jason Kelce saved Tush Push from a ban last month, another NFL legend, who turned defensive backs into pretzels for a living, just delivered his verdict on the brotherly shove.

“It’s here to stay, and banning it would cause international incidents. Well, I’m glad it’s still in effect,” Rob Gronkowski chuckled on the Games with Names podcast with Julian Edelman, fresh off a trip to Orlando working with a Brazilian tech company, MGNOW. “I was hired by a Brazilian company… they all knew football to a T. And they go, ‘What do you think about the Tush Push?’” Gronk’s response?

Pure Gronk. “I said, ‘If the Tush Push got banned, Brazil will go bankrupt.’ You get it?” Cue the laughter. “The Tush Push is in Brazil. We need that Tush Push to survive. Jewels, we need that Tush to always be there in Brazil.” His point wasn’t just about global fandom; it was about football fundamentals. “The game of football is… the goal is to come up with a situation to move the ball forward. And the Tush Push is totally legal. That’s what you’re supposed to do.” Damning? Only if you hate success. His verdict is an emphatic endorsement.

But like any unstoppable play – the Wildcat, Jim Kelly’s K-Gun two-minute drill – defenses adapt. Jules, ever the wily slot-receiver-turned-analyst, sees the clock ticking. “All the DCs are studying the Tush Push to figure out what they need to do to stop it,” Edelman noted.

“Eventually they’ll figure it out, and then it won’t even be a thing anymore.” Gronk agreed, drawing a direct line to the ultimate short-yardage artist: “It’ll be like the QB sneak. They didn’t stop Tom Brady from doing QB sneaks.” Then, the kicker: “He’s got like over 1,000 rushing yards; I think every single one of them was off QB sneaking.” It wasn’t hyperbole. Brady’s 1,000+ career rushing yards were largely accumulated one brutal, necessary yard at a time, a testament to converting when it mattered most.

Gronk sneak: Brady’s brutal ballet 

Brady’s QB sneak wasn’t flashy; it was gridiron poetry in motion – a blend of anticipation, leverage, and sheer will. His 90.5% conversion rate on 3rd/4th & 1 since 2000 is the gold standard, built on reading defensive gaps like a chess master spotting weakness.

Think AFC Championship, 2011 season: 4th & goal, Ravens, Ray Lewis looming. Brady audibiled, launched himself over the pile, absorbed Lewis’s hit like a truck, and scored. The New England Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 in the AFC Championship game and went on to win Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

That was the essence – not if he’d get it, but how. He turned a mundane play into an art form, converting 124 sneaks out of 157 attempts. It wasn’t about speed. Indeed, it was about timing, IQ, and an almost psychic feel for the line’s surge. Defense knew it was coming. They lined up their best. And still, for years, they failed. Sound familiar?

That’s the Tush Push’s magic – and its mirror for Brady’s mastery. Philly’s ‘Brotherly Shove’ boasts an 83.3% success rate in 2023, peaking at 92.6% the year prior and 82.4% in ’24. When they re-tried after the rare miss? A near-perfect 97.9% effective rate. Like Brady reading a linebacker’s depth, the Eagles leverage Jalen Hurts’ 600-pound squat strength and a synchronized shove from behind. It’s not a loophole; it’s evolution.

And while Edelman’s right—defenses will scheme counters (“Just don’t let the team get in third-and-one,” he quipped)—its current dominance echoes Brady’s decade-long sneak supremacy. Both are testaments to executing the simple things savagely well.

So, is the Tush Push “damning”? Only if you believe winning within the rules is a sin. Gronk sees it as vital, global, and fundamentally sound. Ban it? You might as well tell Brazil their football love affair is over.

“Brazil will go bankrupt,” Gronk warned, half-joking, wholly serious, indeed. Moreover, in a league built on innovation and force, the Push, like Brady’s sneak, is simply the next chapter in the never-ending playbook chess match. Undoubtedly, defenses will adjust. But until they do? Let the Tush shove on. It’s not cheating; it’s just football, cranked up to eleven.