San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan briefly discussed the Philadelphia Eagles' "tush push" while speaking to reporters on Wednesday. In his weekly radio interview on Thursday, Shanahan delved into the Eagles' unique take on the quarterback sneak.

Philadelphia has seen a lot of success executing this popular short-yardage play. Quarterback Jalen Hurts lines up under center with multiple players behind him, taking the snap and relying on those players to push from behind, resulting in a first down more often than not.


"It's pretty good. It's pretty impressive," Shanahan said on KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show. "Other teams can do it also, but you got to give them the [credit]. One, they perfected. [They were] the first ones to do it as much as they did it, so they get the credit for that. But also, I think the way their center (Jason Kelce) is wired, I think the way their whole O-line is wired.

"And, I think, on top of it, when you have a quarterback (Jalen Hurts) there who, from what I hear, is pound for pound the strongest guy on the team and can squat 600 pounds, and then you got some big guys behind him pushing him, you also got an advantage there."

Shanahan doubts the Eagles practiced the play extensively in training camp before debuting it on the football field. The coach recently emphasized that the 49ers wouldn't spend too much time, if any, in practice strategizing a defense against the play. Instead, the 49ers aim to avoid facing the "tush push" altogether by preventing the Eagles from having short-yardage opportunities.

"You (the Eagles) walk through it, but you're not going to do that live in practice," Shanahan continued, explaining why the Eagles have been so successful with the QB sneak. "And you do it in the first game, and it works, and you keep doing it. And now they've had more reps at it than anyone else, so they've perfected it. They got the personnel for it.

"I think the reason it gets so much attention is because not many plays are as automatic as that play. I can't think of one ever that I've seen like that."


Shanahan hinted that the 49ers have a plan in place to counter the "tush push" if they see it on Sunday. While acknowledging the importance of the low man winning in the trenches, the coach added, "I can't give our secrets on how we're going to stop it."

You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.



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