The Philadelphia Eagles now have a massive hole literally at the center of their offense. All-Pro Jason Kelce reportedly told teammates following the club’s wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night that he plans to retire. While Philly will certainly miss Kelce and the feeling is certainly mutual, there is one aspect of the game that he appears happy to leave behind — the Tush Push.
As Fox Sports’ Laura Okmin revealed following the news of his retirement coming out, Kelce was not a fan of the popular play and would shout “F*** my life!” upon snapping the football and pushing forward, which was also confirmed by quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Of course, it’s hard to blame Kelce for not exactly being thrilled whenever the “Tush Push” or “Brotherly Shove” as it grew to be called was deployed. It’s a tough play, particularly for the center, who is in the thick of the action and oftentimes finds himself at the bottom of the pile when it’s all said and done.
The play was wildly successful for the Eagles this season, but they did have a rare failed conversion during the playoff loss to the Buccaneers. After Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter, a penalty called on Tampa Bay opened the door for the Eagles to get the ball near the goal line for a 2-point conversion attempt. That’s when Kelce and the rest of the offense lined up for the push, but ultimately came up short (in part thanks to a missed face-mask penalty that brought Hurts to the ground before reaching the end zone).
While the last attempt may not have been a success, Kelce is likely happy to leave that part of the NFL in the rearview mirror.
