Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata is done with the conjured narrative that his club only beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday because of the tush push.
In an interview with 94 WIP on Tuesday, Mailata said he understands why the play is a hot-button issue, but took exception to the idea that the play is the only reason the Eagles took home the W.
"I understand the outrage," Mailata said. "What I don't understand is them using it as an excuse to why we won the game. I think it's incredibly disrespectful to our defense and our special teams, who balled out. My brothers on defense and special teams who balled out that game, who had our backs when we weren't moving the ball or weren't doing anything."
The stud left tackle got fired up as he continued.
"That kind of irks me a little bit. That pisses me off because we give so much to this game and to kind of base off a short-yardage play -- that is a football play," he said. "And say that we won the game off that, but not how our defense played and not how our special teams have played, putting us in those positions. You know, I think it's bullcrap.
"I just think it's rubbish. Absolute rubbish, man. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it."
The Eagles used the tush push seven times on Sunday, converting five. The talking point this week is about uncalled early starts by the Eagles on a few of those push plays -- something Eagles coach Nick Sirianni didn’t deny.
The short-yardage play that the Eagles do better than every other club that tries is certainly an advantage, but it's not the reason Philly won the game.
The turning point of the contest came when Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce flubbed a potential touchdown catch into the hands of Philly rookie ballhawk Andrew Mukuba, who sprinted the other way. The Eagles would turn the INT into a TD. A possible Philly deficit became a double-digit lead.
To further Mailata's point, Eagles kicker Jake Elliott mashed two field goals, a 58-yarder and a 51-yarder, while Harrison Butker missed a first-quarter 58-yarder.
The tush push is a weapon for Philly, but it's not the only reason it wins games. Sunday, it took 51 other plays on offense, a defense that held K.C. under the 300-yard mark and forced a key turnover, and a special teams unit that put points on the board. A total team effort.
