Jason Kelce will watch his beloved Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
The former center, who retired last March, won the Super Bowl himself with the franchise in 2018, and was a seven-time Pro Bowler and six-time first-team All-Pro selection over the course of a brilliant 13-year career.
Kelce was also an integral part of the polarising ‘Tush Push’ play which became a signature move the Eagles are still running today.
The short-yardage play involves quarterback Jalen Hurts literally being pushed in the back by his offensive lineman in an attempt to secure a down or reach the endzone.
Last March, after reports broke about Kelce’s retirement, NFL on Fox reporter Laura Okmin revealed that Jason would shout the same X-rated three word message every time Nick Sirianni’s team ran the Tush Push.
“My favourite quote of the season was one I couldn’t say on TV,” Okmin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, at the time.
“Explaining the toll the tush push takes on you, @JasonKelce told me upon push, he yells, ‘F*** MY LIFE!’
Despite the pain of having that many hulking bodies crushing against him, Kelce never shied away from the Tush Push and orchestrated it to great effect.
He was responsible for snapping the ball back to Hurts and previously said that if ran correctly he would end up – somewhat painfully – on the bottom of the pile of bodies.
The Eagles have continued to use the play this season in Kelce’s absence, and we could see it again in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs.
However, Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has hinted how he plans to stop the controversial play.
Despite the difficulty in finding a way to deny the Eagles – if there even is one – Spagnuolo has lifted the lid on how he will try to curtail the effectiveness of the Tush Push.
“No secrets,” Spagnuolo told media in New Orleans.
“Everybody’s asking! I mean, try not to get them in those situations, that’s the best chance you have.
“We will try to find a way to get as much big muscle in there and knock it back the other way, but they’re pretty good at it.”
‘Pretty good at it’ is quite the understatement.
In the 2022 season, the Eagles successfully used the Tush Push 25 times out of 27 attempts, a rate of 92.6%.
The dropped in 2023 to 83.3%, but that’s likely because Philadelphia used it far more as they completed 35 out of 42 Tush Push attempts.
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With Cam Jurgens replacing Kelce at center in 2024, the Eagles missed two sneak attempts in Week 1.
The rest of the way, they converted at 84.4%.
With the Super Bowl on the line this Sunday, it’s almost certain we’re going to see the Eagles try a Tush Push or two on New Orleans.
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