The Eagles have been one of the NFL's best offenses during their run to the 2023 Super Bowl, and one of the reasons it has thrived is that it is so balanced.
Philadelphia isn't afraid to pass the ball by any means, but it has one of the most prolific rushing offenses in the NFL. The Eagles have frequently been able to keep the chains moving thanks to big runs by Miles Sanders and Jalen Hurts, but even more often they have found themselves in short-yardage situations.
And that is an area in which the team thrives the most thanks to its signature play, the "Two-Cheek Sneak."
MORE: Watch Super Bowl 57 live with fuboTV (free trial)
The Two-Cheek Sneak is a rather simple-looking play. It's a quarterback sneak straight up the middle during which Jalen Hurts tries to bull forward for the first down. The one twist is that he is being pushed from behind while this happens, giving him the extra momentum needed to gain the first down.
The play has been a smashing success for the Eagles, who have become not only the league's best quarterback-sneaking team, but also its most prolific.
“It’s not a sneak anymore,” Eagles center Jason Kelce told The Athletic. “There’s nothing sneaky about it. Both teams know what’s coming."
Even despite that, NFL teams have been unable to find a way to counter the Two-Cheek Sneak. Just how unstoppable is it? Here's a breakdown of the Eagles' not-so-secret weapon and whether the Chiefs will find a way to deal with it in Super Bowl 57.
Why the Eagles' QB sneak is practically unstoppable
1. QB sneaks are already highly successful in short-yardage situations.
Let's start with the basics here. If you are in a short-yardage situation, the best move is almost always to run a quarterback sneak.
According to a study conducted by Yale, it was determined that going for a QB sneak on fourth-and-1 is successful 82.8 percent of the time. That is more than 20 points higher than the all other plays used on fourth-and-1.
| Play type | Conversion rate |
| QB sneak | 82.8 |
| Non-QB running plays | 63.4 |
| All non-sneaks | 62 |
That study — which used data available from the 1998 through 2015 NFL seasons — also determined that quarterback sneaks had an efficacy of 89.7 percent in fourth-and-2 scenarios. So, the success of the play wasn't limited to runs of the 1-yard variety.
The Yale report may not exactly be recent, but it's worth noting that another study conducted by Sports Info Solutions using data from 2015 through 2018 found similar results. That study established that quarterback sneaks had a conversion rate of 88 percent on third- or fourth-and-short scenarios, the best of any potential play call in those scenarios.
So, that's a big part of the Eagles' success. The more you run the sneak in short-yardage situations, the more likely you are to convert and keep drives going.
But even still, the Eagles' success rate — 29 conversions on 32 sneaks in 2023, per The Athletic — has come in at 90.7 percent, much better than the average rating. So, their personnel has played a big part in that consistent performance, especially along the offensive line.
2. The Eagles have a top-tier offensive line.
The Eagles have long had one of the NFL's best interior offensive lines. Jason Kelce is the big name as a perennial All-Pro, but the guards flanking him this season — Isaac Seumalo and Landon Dickerson — have been rock solid as well.
Kelce was the No. 2-graded run-blocking center in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, and has a stellar first step off the line. He is able to quickly transition from his snap to generating push up front, and that has created immediate space that Hurts has been able to move into.
Meanwhile, Seumalo and Dickerson have both been graded as above-average run blockers at PFF. They are a big part of why both Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders rank inside the top 5 at their positions in yards before contact per attempt, with marks of 3.8 and 3.2 respectively.
What does that mean? Well, like Kelce, Seumalo and Dickerson are quickly able to create lanes, creases and spaces after engaging with their blockers. That is of the utmost importance on the rapidly developing quarterback sneak, so this trio's ability to win consistently and early has aided Hurts' ability to find open space to dive into.
MORE: Why Eagles fans can thank Andy Reid for Jalen Hurts landing in Philly
3. Jalen Hurts is STRONG.
The offensive line is responsible for the all-important beginning of Hurts' sneak, but he is still responsible for the middle portion of it.
Hurts has proven adept at not just falling forward, but keeping his legs moving through contact. That has contributed to the Eagles' success with the sneak, as Hurts has rarely been stonewalled at the point of attack.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Hurts has been able to push the pile on his own accord. He is among the NFL's smaller starters at 6-1, 223 pounds, but has always been strong for his size.
Case and point: Here's a video of Hurts doing a 620-pound deadlift during the summer of 2021.
Jalen Hurts with the 620 lbs deadlift. QB1 is a strong dude!
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) July 13, 2021
Love the deco at the gym where Hurts and Lane Johnson work out!#Eagles (via Gabriel_rangel on IG) pic.twitter.com/5Q9pEHX3Ye
But how did Hurts get to be so strong? He was not only a football star during his school, but also moonlighted as a powerlifter. AL.com reported that Hurts was performing 500-pound squats by the time he was a sophomore in high school. And at one event, he bench-pressed 275 pounds before dead-lifting 585 pounds.
Below is a video of some of his achievements.
As impressive as his strength was then, Hurts has only gotten stronger as he played at Alabama, Oklahoma and now, in the NFL with the Eagles. That has given him an excellent leg drive ability, which allows him to finish his runs.
4. The push from behind generates extra momentum.
Hurts isn't the only player that helps finish the Two-Cheek Sneak. He is usually followed from behind by another player who is tasked with following a two-step process, as outlined by rookie tight end Grant Calcaterra.
"First, make sure he gets the snap," he told Football Outsiders. "Second, once he gets the snap, just push him as much as you can."
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it isn't always. As tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Miles Sanders explained, the players have to think about ball security before just charging into the pile.
"It’s all about timing," Goedert said of the sneak. "And once Jalen gets the ball up to his chest, I just start pushing."
"Hopefully, he’s low enough,” Sanders said of Hurts. "And then we just use all our power."
Though the play is a bit more complicated than it may appear, its design has, largely, worked perfectly for Philadelphia. The extra momentum generated by the push makes it hard for defensive linemen and linebackers to effectively stack up Hurts without getting knocked back at least a little bit. That is often all the Eagles need to get past the sticks.
So, as long as the timing is right during the play, it should continue to be effective.
Can the Chiefs stop the Eagles' Two-Cheek Sneak?
It is going to be very difficult for the Chiefs to stop the Eagles' quarterback sneak play during the Super Bowl.
Essentially, the only times Jalen Hurts has failed to get a first down on a quarterback sneak this year have come when the Eagles have not executed the sneak well. The best example of this came in Week 12 against the Packers, when the Eagles were stopped twice on third- and fourth-and-1 opportunities on their own 37-yard line.
On the first run, Hurts didn't get low off the snap at all. He was largely standing upright and that allowed Kingsley Enagbare to tackle him with ease for no gain, as Hurts was largely exposed on the play. And there was no pusher from behind on this particular sneak to help move Hurts forward.
Then, on fourth-and-1, the snap wasn't clean, as it looked like the offensive line moved early. As a result, Hurts never got the ball but Sanders did and was ruled short of the marker.
So, in truth, the best way for the Chiefs to stop the Eagles on their top sneak play will be for Philadelphia to beat itself and make the job easier for Kansas City.
SUPER BOWL PROP BETS: Jalen Hurts | Patrick Mahomes
Otherwise, the Chiefs' best chance will be to overload the line with big bodies. They can then hope that one of Chris Jones, Derek Nnadi, Brandon Williams or Frank Clark can break through and pull Hurts back. Or maybe that a linebacker like Nick Bolton or Willie Gay Jr. could come downhill at the exact right time to beat the line and stop Hurts in his tracks.
Either way, stopping the two-cheek sneak seems like a near-impossible task for the Chiefs. If they can do it even once and force the Eagles to think about what they are doing on the play, that would be a major win for Steve Spagnuolo's defense.
