49ers HC Kyle Shanahan explains team's preparation for Eagles push play

The biggest showdown of the week in the NFL this Sunday is in Philadelphia for a rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

If the game comes down to the Eagles needing to gain one or two yards in a must-have situation, you can be sure they are going to resort to their nearly unstoppable quarterback push play. 

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan is very aware of that and on Wednesday talked about what can be done to stop the Eagles from succeeding with it.

His answer basically comes down to, don't let them get into a situation where they can do it.

Said Shanahan:

"Yeah, you want to try to keep [Hurts] out of those situations first and foremost," said Shanahan. "I know it's possible to stop, but I think it's pretty proven that it's extremely hard, so you try to keep him out of those situations."

It is definitely possible to stop, as no other team in the NFL has anywhere near the success with it that the Eagles do.

What makes the Eagles so unstoppable with it is the combination of having one of the league's best and most powerful offensive lines – led by center Jason Kelce – and a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who might be pound-for-pound the strongest quarterback in the NFL. Those two forces pushing forward are nearly impossible to stop. 

If the Eagles get into a goal-line situation or need one or two yards on a third or fourth down it is almost a certainty that they can move the pile with ease. 

Shanahan added that they are not going to spend much time practicing the play this week – mainly because it is almost impossible to duplicate, while also carrying an injury risk – and that he is simply going to coach his team up, tell them where to be positioned and what to expect.