The Philadelphia Eagles have popularized the "tush push," and their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, attempted it on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers with quarterback Dak Prescott.
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Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for them as well as it did for quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
The idea is that the quarterback takes the ball for a short-yardage play and tries to move it forward with the help of teammates pushing him from behind.
With Dak Prescott under center in the last few minutes of the first half, they tried it on fourth and 1 near the Chargers' 10-yard line.
What a beautiful sight. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys get stuffed on the tush push.
It’s almost like not every team can run it like the Eagles pic.twitter.com/YueQZpaIC2
— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) October 17, 2023
When asked about it, Prescott offered a straightforward reason for why the play didn't work.
“What happened on the Tush Push play?”
Dak Prescott: “They didn’t push my tush enough”
BANG!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥😂😂😂😂😂 #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/kxMuDeAl6j
— Ernie (@es3_09) October 17, 2023
"They didn't push my tush enough," the former fourth-rounder from the 2016 NFL Draft said.
After the play, broadcaster Troy Aikman said, "I think the Eagles are the only one who have figured it out."
The #Cowboys becomes the latest team to try the tush-push and fail.
"I think the Eagles are the only one who have figured it out." - Troy Aikmanpic.twitter.com/B2wRafTZDc
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 17, 2023
As you can see, no one pushed Prescott from behind to help give him extra power to plow through the Chargers' defensive line, so Prescott's assessment of them not pushing his tush enough appears to be correct.
In this game, 20 penalties were called. Of the 20, 11 were on the Cowboys for 85 yards, and nine were on the Chargers for 79 yards.
Despite the lack of tush-push prowess, the Cowboys won the game 20-17 to improve to 4-2, while the Chargers dropped to 2-3.
The game was tied 17-17 with 2:19 remaining until Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey booted a 39-yard field goal to put Dallas ahead.
This game also included a Prescott 18-yard run for a touchdown in the first quarter. Most of the scoring here came in the first and fourth quarters. In the second and third, each team scored just three points.
Moving forward, the Cowboys will certainly want to work on the "tush push" play. When you're that close to picking up a first down and you see another team — especially one in your division — devise a way to consistently pick up first downs, it's a play to consider that could be the difference between winning and losing.
The Cowboys are headed into a bye week for Week 7 and will face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8.
