Fed-up Eagles push back on criticism of tush push ahead of playoff rematch with Rams

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Fired up and with a point to prove, the Eagles are pushing back on the tush push hate.

There’s plenty of criticism around the NFL these days about the play — loathed just about everywhere but Philadelphia — and the Super Bowl champion Eagles have had enough.

“This is my official plea to all the teams out there,” offensive lineman Jordan Mailata said. “You can run the tush push just like we can.”

Fact check: He’s right.

More teams complain about the tush push than actually try and run the rugby-style scrum deemed so unstoppable that the Green Bay Packers proposed banning it. Their effort fell two votes short at the NFL's spring owners meeting.

With a reprieve, the Eagles are running up the tush push play total with little regard for what anybody says. Jalen Hurts scored a touchdown on a tush push and the Eagles used the play seven times to help send the Kansas City Chiefs to their first 0-2 start since 2014.

The next chance for the Eagles (2-0) to use the tush push comes Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams (2-0) in a playoff rematch from last season.

“They're such a damn good team and it's such a successful play for them,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino blasted the play on national television last weekend. Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher said this week in a talk radio appearance: “It's not a football play. It’s a scrum.” Other prominent NFL personalities took turns bashing the tush push, in large part because officials struggle to catch false starts and the Eagles are seemingly getting away with offensive linemen moving early.

“Any time that you see certain things, you have conversations with the league office to just make sure you're understanding how's it officiated, how can we coach it,” McVay said. “I'm sure they'll have the same ones and operate within the confines of not getting a little bit of a rolling start before the ball is snapped.”

No example summed up how much the tush push can be a pain in the butt to the opposition quite like when the Eagles used it to maddening perfection against Washington in the NFC championship game last season. The Commanders jumped offside four times in a sequence of five plays while trying to stop the tush push — earning them a warning from the referee that he could award the Eagles a touchdown if the Commanders did it again.

ESPN reported the Eagles converted 96.6% of the time when running the play in fourth-and-1 situations and have attempted it 116 times overall since 2022.

That’s the incredible part: Teams know the tush push is coming, fans at Lincoln Financial Field go wild when the Eagles line up for it, and yet defenses still can’t stop it.

“It's a lot of coordination. A lot of organized mess,” Mailata said. “Any other team can do it.”

Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce agreed this week that the tush was starting to push the edge of fair play.

“I think they are trying to time it and going too early now. And lining it up too close,” Kelce said. “I sincerely hope (they) get back to running it like before to avoid all this nonsense over the rest of the season. I don't have the bandwidth for a full season of neutral zone discussion.”

But the play isn't going anywhere — at least not this season.

“I think it’s a beautiful piece of art," Mailata said.

Puka Nacua and Davante Adams have immediately clicked as a receiving duo, racking up 28 catches for 378 yards and a touchdown in their first two games with the Rams. They’ll put pressure on young Philadelphia cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Los Angeles also threw the ball well against the Eagles last season, with 324 yards and two TDs for Matthew Stafford in the playoff loss.

The Eagles have a championship banner hanging at Lincoln Financial Field and are off to a 2-0 start — part of a run of 18 wins in their last 19 games, the most wins over any 19-game stretch in franchise history.

So, what's to complain about?

Well, the Eagles are winning without the explosive plays that highlighted their run to the Super Bowl.

Hurts has attempted only three passes of 20-plus yards this season and has only 253 yards passing and no touchdowns, Coming off a 2,000-yard rushing season, Saquon Barkley has only 148 yards over the first two games, and receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith have a combined 13 receptions.

The Eagles define an explosive passing play as one that goes 16-plus yards, and they have just two this season. Jahan Dotson had a 51-yard reception in the opener against Dallas and Smith had a 28-yard catch against the Chiefs.

Why so few? Everything from rust (the starters didn't play in the preseason) to new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo have been blamed.

Playing it safe works. The Eagles have only one turnover in their last eight games.

“Explosive plays are great and you always want to try to get them. It makes it way easier to score. It makes it way more efficient, obviously, for an offense to move the ball down the field,” Patullo said. “But there is a fine line because you want to make sure those explosive plays aren’t coming at a cost where you’re at a high risk for a turnover in a game like that.”

Against the Rams in last season’s playoffs, Barkley had touchdown runs of 78 and 62 yards and finished with 205 yards rushing in a 28-22 win.

This is the Rams’ second straight week with a long flight East and a 10 a.m. PDT kickoff, following last week’s win at Tennessee. Stafford says his balky back hasn’t been affected yet by all that time in the air, although it’s always on his mind. McVay said he prefers an early start, since it prevents players and coaches from overthinking what’s already been a long week of preparation.

AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay speaks during a news conference after the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Philadelphia Eagles players warm up during indoor practice on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio watches the team during indoor NFL football practice, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a new ceasefire.

Thai officials said they did not agree to a ceasefire. Cambodia has not commented directly on Trump’s claim, but its defense ministry said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”

He said Trump’s characterization of a land mine explosion that wounded Thai soldiers as a “roadside accident” was inaccurate, and did not reflect Thailand's position that it was a deliberate act of aggression.

Sihasak said that Trump’s willingness to credit what may be “information from sources that deliberately distorted the facts” instead of believing Thailand hurt the feelings of the Thai people “because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region.”

The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.

The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced.

The Thai military acknowledged 15 of its troops died during the fighting, and estimated earlier this week that there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and more than six dozen wounded.

Trump, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, announced on Friday an agreement to restart the ceasefire.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had, after his call with Trump, said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first.

The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday included dissolving Parliament, so new elections could be held early next year.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.

Hun Manet said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”

“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed," Hun Manet wrote.

Anwar later posted on social media that he was urging the two sides to implement a ceasefire on Saturday night. Cambodia's prime minister, also posting online, endorsed the initiative, which included having Malaysia and the United States help monitor it. However, Thai Prime Minister Anutin denied that his country was even in negotiations over the proposal.

Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.

BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.

However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.

Thailand's navy was also reported by both sides' militaries to have joined the fighting on Saturday morning, with a warship in the Gulf of Thailand shelling Cambodia's southwestern province of Koh Kong. Each side said the other opened fire first.

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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

A man sits in a tent as he takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An evacuee cooks soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)