One of the architects of the tush push was impressed by the Vikings' unique attempt to stop it on Sunday.
With the Eagles facing third-and-1 late in the first quarter, Minnesota tried out an interesting defensive formation on the field in order to stop Philadelphia's signature play. They set up with linebacker Tyler Batty lined up sideways in front of Eagles center Cam Jurgens, with the rest of the defense crowding the line around him, and two interior linemen over top of him. The result of the play was a false start by receiver A.J. Brown, moving Philly back five yards.
That was the second time the Vikings had attempted that defensive alignment against the tush push. On the first, quarterback Jalen Hurts was able to pick up one yard and a first down on a fourth-and-1 play.
Here's an overhead visual of the alignment:
The Vikings with an interesting formation to try and defend the tush push pic.twitter.com/NnS62MtnbJ
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Former Eagles center Jason Kelce was one of the key architects of the tush push, and he seemed impressed by the idea. He took to Twitter and responded to what the Vikings had tried, saying, "It’s [an] interesting strategy. Create a log jam at the point, then the other DTs jumped over, it almost worked. I’d line up with an unbalanced line and just make the guard the center of the push though. I do like seeing innovative strategies to stop it."
Teams will continue experimenting to find ways to stop the play until the NFL bans it. There has already been a ton of drama surrounding it this season, especially due to blatant penalties going uncalled.
We'll see if the Vikings have more success with their strategy, and if other teams begin copying it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jason Kelce Explains Vikings’ Unique Attempt to Stop Tush Push.
