Temple takes a page out of Eagles playbook with QB sneak

Temple took a page out of the Eagles’ playbook in its win over Norfolk State on Saturday.

Up 7-0 in the first quarter and on second-and-goal, the Owls ran the Eagles’ signature “tush push” quarterback sneak to propel backup quarterback Quincy Patterson into the end zone.

Patterson lined up for the snap with three teammates in formation behind him, who gave him an assist to steamroll through Norfolk State’s defense for the touchdown.

“Number one, you need to get lined up in a hurry,” Temple coach Stan Drayton said on Monday. “It’s low man wins. You’ve got 900,000 pounds coming at you, it is pretty tough to stop if you can’t get underneath people. Then you’ve got a 240 [-pound] quarterback [Patterson] that can push the pile, you’ve got running backs there pushing on your tush. It is a tough play to stop.”

It was virtually identical to the play that the Eagles ran twice two days earlier on the same field against the Minnesota Vikings. Both times, the Eagles were successful and the play resulted in two touchdowns in their 34-28 win.

The Eagles converted 90.5% (29 of 32) of their sneaks last season, and are 2-for-2 in 2023. The Owls are 1-for-1, and according to Drayton, we might be seeing the play a few more times.

“I’m not going to lie to you, we stole it from the Eagles playbook,” Drayton said. “I’m sitting there looking at this play for the last two years, like the success rate is just ridiculous, so I’ll be a fool not to at least give it a shot. So we gave it a shot, and it worked and we’ll keep it in the game plan.”