Eagles TE recalls play opponents 'hated'

Those gripes from defenders are largely unwarranted. Not only is anyone involved in a rugby scrum — essentially what the play is — the opposite of "soft," but Goedert is correct in that the easiest way to avoid the sneak is for defenses to be better on the first three plays of a drive.

To be fair to defenses, the play is unimaginative and an eyesore to watch. But until the league makes pushing ball-carriers forward illegal, it's the right play to run in short-yardage situations. The only odd thing about it is why it took so long for a team to adopt it.

Philadelphia flirted with the play in 2021 before fully embracing it in its run to the Super Bowl last season.

Cardinals safety Budda Baker recalled "almost killing myself" trying to stop the play last year, which he joked was "not smart" on his part, but there is a fear that the play could lead to more injuries. 

Little to no evidence exists to suggest players are more prone to injuries on sneaks than on any other play, but in an era where the league is hypervigilant on player safety issues, the NFL won't hesitate to ban the play if it's perceived as being a threat to players.

The league decided not to tweak the rule on QB sneaks this offseason, allowing the Eagles to continue to thrive in those scenarios and for other teams to follow their lead.

Earlier this offseason, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said his team would take a similar approach on 3rd- and 4th-and-1 situations.

Of course, defenses are planning for an influx of sneaks in 2023. As Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Ben Roethlisberger on his "Footbahlin" podcast, "I think we're going to see the defensive coaches' collective response to it in 2023... Because one of the things that I'm hearing in coaches' circles is the defensive coaches are going to push as well."