Eagles' Jason Kelce Predicts Defenders Will Start Faking Injuries on 'Tush Push'

As the Philadelphia Eagles continue to dominate in the trenches with the "tush push," Jason Kelce thinks opposing defenders might turn to faking injuries in an attempt to get the play banned.

On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, the Eagles center said players will start "faking injuries" on the push play "just like they fake injuries to stop you from going [hurry-up]."

"I'm telling you," Kelce said. "I swear, I guarantee. Guys are going to start faking injuries. It's going to start off [as] minor injuries at first, but they're already thinking about how can we get this outlawed for next season."

Kelce's comment came in response to a recent report from ESPN's Adam Schefter that the NFL's competition committee is paying attention to it after two New York Giants players were injured on the play during their Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Giants center John Michael Schmitz and tight end Daniel Bellinger were injured on a 4th-and-1 attempt on the team's first offensive possession in the game. Neither player returned to the game. Schmitz sat out New York's loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday with a shoulder injury.

Schefter noted nothing will change during the 2023 season, but the NFL and NFL Players Association will study "all the injury data related to the play" and it could be a discussion for the competition committee in the offseason.

Even though there was no official request made to change the play in the annual rules proposals from last offseason, NFL head of football operations Troy Vincent said in February the competition committee discussed it at length.

NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay announced in March there would be no change to the rule because there was no injury data regarding the play.

The key to McKay's comment is the lack of injury data, not that injuries don't occur on the play. If players start getting hurt—or faking an injury, as Kelce says—the league's stance on the play could change.

The Eagles attempted the push six times in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Rams.

From the start of the 2022 season through Week 4 this year, the Eagles had a 91 percent conversion rate on 46 attempts using sneak plays.