Fred Warner goes above and beyond to stop Kirk Cousins at the goal line
The “Tush Push” has become a point of national debate.
But Fred Warner, the dynamic linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, may have just ended it.
The success the Philadelphia Eagles are having with the play has led almost every other NFL team — and perhaps every other team at all levels of the sport — to put their own version of the play in their playbooks. While Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni is likely right when he makes the case that no one can run it quite like the Eagles, the play is still difficult to stop when executed correctly.
Unless, as we now know, Fred Warner is on the other side of the line.
The Minnesota Vikings dialed up their own version of the “Tush Push” — or “Brotherly Shove” if you are so inclined — during Monday Night Football against the 49ers when facing 1st and goal from the one-yard line.
That’s when Warner did … this:
This is the kind of play that you need to see from every angle. Here is the slow-motion angle from down the line of scrimmage:
And for good measure, the overhead cam:
Now to be fair, Warner might not have come up with this idea on his own. After all, our own JP Acosta outlined last week how Easton Stapleton, a linebacker at Lumberton High School in Texas, stopped the design by going over the top.
Still, seeing Warner pull this off on Monday Night Football is something special. Not only did he keep Kirk Cousins out of the end zone on this play, but the Vikings were forced to settle for a field goal despite facing 1st and goal on the one-yard line.
Keep this play in the back of your mind for a few weeks. After all, the 49ers and the Eagles have an NFC Championship Game rematch slated for December 3rd.
