Chris Jones is certainly doing his homework ahead of Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Kansas City Chiefs star defensive tackle Jones revealed this week on “The Rich Eisen Show” the interesting way he is preparing for the Eagles’ famed “tush push” play before Monday’s matchup. Jones said that he has enlisted the help of a rugby-playing friend to give him some pointers.
“We got a plan for it,” Jones said, per Sports Illustrated. “We’re going to watch a few rugby games. I got a rugby friend, I can’t disclose his name, but I got a rugby friend who’s been telling me a few little pointers on what I could do to stop this.”
A rugby scrum may indeed be the best way to describe Philly’s ubiquitous tush push (otherwise known as the “brotherly shove”). It is a play that only works to the extent that it does for the Eagles because they have the best and most dominant offensive line in the league as well as a powerful, athletic QB in Jalen Hurts at the controls. In order to stop it, the opposition will likely have to think outside the box and apply techniques from a different sport.
Prepare as they may though, Jones and the Chiefs will still have to be on their toes for Monday’s Super Bowl LVII rematch. After all, the Eagles have already completely fooled opponents this season by running fake versions of the tush push.
