Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and Jalen Carter are among the star players who have led the Philadelphia Eagles to their appearance in Super Bowl LIX.
But it is former Chicago Bears standout Charles Tillman who is serving as an inspiration that is helping along the way. Where would the Eagles be without the Peanut Punch?
I been trying to tell y’all it works https://t.co/l9yEi69vSE
— Charles Tillman (@peanuttillman) February 4, 2025
And if you have ever wondered about the origin story of the Peanut Punch, Charles Tillman shared it recently at 670 The Score:
Charles Tillman shared the origin of the "Peanut Punch," which included him purposely taking bad angles at times in college to give himself a chance to create a turnover with his signature move. He adjusted that strategy in the NFL.
Listen: https://t.co/CANsexh0fE pic.twitter.com/GigK9gUiiG— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 29, 2025
Words from Peanut:
“The one thing I used to do in college is, I would purposely take bad angles in college. … Clearly, you can’t do that in the NFL because everybody is fast. I just said, well damn, I got to figure out a way to punch it out and make a tackle at the same time.
So my first game, we played San Francisco at old Candlestick and it was a special teams play. I was the gunner. I was a dope gunner, too. Running down the field, I don’t know who the return man was, but I just punched it out, first one. He had that thing like a loaf of bread and I just punched it out. And then I was like ‘Oh yeah, I can do that in this league.’ And I just started punching them.”
In case you’re curious, the return specialist in question was Jimmy Williams. Williams’ punt return went for five yards before Charles Tillman delivered the first-ever Peanut Punch. And for what it’s worth, the ball was recovered by long-snapper Patrick Mannelly. So if you ever want to stump your friends with some quality trivia, knowing that Jimmy Williams was the first victim of the Peanut Punch feels like a bit of knowledge worth knowing.
Unfortunately, the Bears lost that game to the 49ers by a 49-7 score (yes, I ran down the box score of this game) because nothing good ever happened to Chicago’s football team at Candlestick Park. Good riddance to that place.
MORE: Peanut Tillman’s Hall of Fame Case Continues Getting Stronger
Watch some Charles Tillman highlights — which include plenty of Peanut Punches
Charles Tillman is one of the best players in Chicago Bears franchise history. And with every Peanut Punch that pops up on our television set, his legend grows. But even more than that, each Peanut Punch that occurs on an NFL game day further strengthens his case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It might take some sort of veteran’s committee to get Peanut into the Hall, but maybe it won’t if we continue our onslaught of sharing Tillman highlights.
Sometimes, the best offense is a defense led by Peanut Tillman and Lance Briggs. @nflthrowback pic.twitter.com/XXYmYsVBgG— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 7, 2020
The best @ChicagoBears offense is a defense led by Brian Urlacher & Peanut Tillman. pic.twitter.com/cQqdQhjYo2— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 14, 2020