The tush push has become an ongoing debate in the NFL as of late. Between the Eagles' success while running the play, belief that the tush push isn't a football play, false start penalties and concerns over the injury risk, there is desire from many across the NFL to ban the tush push.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, however, expressed admiration toward the creativity of the play before Tampa Bay takes on the Eagles this week.
"I'm a fan of creativity. I think if somebody crafts something and they do it well and it's within the rules, it's up to the other side of the ball to stop them, whether it's offensively or defensively," Bowles said, via Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press. "They have something they do very well. I think Buffalo is the only other team that can do that well. If everyone else could do it, everybody would be doing it. So, it's a challenge for all the defensive coaches to try to stop it, and that'll include me."
Though the Eagles have been remarkably successful both in general and at running the tush push, Bowles might not be overly concerned about the tush push because the Buccaneers have been one of the few teams to stop Philadelphia recently. The Buccaneers have won each of their last two games against the Eagles by three scores, and will have home-field advantage once again this weekend.
Given the Buccaneers' recent history against the Eagles, the question heading into this weekend perhaps shouldn't be how the Buccaneers handle the tush push, but how the Eagles manage playing in the heat of Tampa.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bucs HC Praises Eagles for Tush Push Creativity Ahead of Key Matchup.