Buccaneers think they have an advantage against the Eagles’ Brotherly Shove
“I’d take [Vita Vea] over [Jason] Kelce all day,” Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White said.
The Brotherly Shove might be the most unstoppable play in football. Jalen Hurts scored a rushing touchdown on the play in the Birds’ 25-11 win over the Buccaneers in Week 3, and, as they do every week, the Eagles will turn to it again in short-yardage and red-zone situations in Monday night’s wild-card game.
Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White said Thursday that while the best way to stop the play is by not letting the Eagles get in position to run it in the first place, they have different looks built to push back — and, according to him, an advantage in the middle of their line.
“We put in a certain personnel for it, because we knew they were going to run it,” White said. “Vita [Vea] gives you an edge, I think I’d take him over [Jason] Kelce all day. We just got to keep them out of it. That’s the best way to stop it, is not to let them get into third-and-manageable, that’s how I look at it. But at the end of the day, we do have something in place to try to stop it. We just need to get a better push than they do.”
That’s easier said than done, as the Eagles have been successful on over 90% of their Tush Push attempts for the second straight season.
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But the Bucs aren’t just worried about short-yardage runs.
In their first game against the Eagles, the Bucs’ typically stout run defense struggled to contain the Birds on the ground, allowing 201 rushing yards.
Coach Todd Bowles took special note of Hurts’ scrambling ability, and said Thursday that one of his biggest focuses ahead of Monday night’s game is containing Hurts as a runner and keeping him in the pocket.
“He gets his runs in, but it’s the passing runs that kill you, when you rush four and he’s so athletic he gets outside the pocket anyway when you have four, when you try to rush him normal,” Bowles said. “When you send five and you make somebody miss, he gets up through the hole, that’s going to be a real concentration point because I don’t see anybody that’s really stopped it.”
Hurts, who is recovering from an injury to the middle finger on his throwing hand, ran for just 28 yards on 10 attempts in that Week 3 game — D’Andre Swift did the most damage with 130 yards on 16 carries — but he did find the end zone.