The Tush Push: You either love it or you hate it. And often, the group of haters will include a significant number of those who simply can’t stand the Philadelphia Eagles. And the Tush Push is here to stay.
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At this week’s NFL owners’ league meeting in Eagan, Minnesota, a proposal to ban the now-iconic quarterback sneak, made famous by the Eagles, failed to pass. The rule change needed 24 of 32 votes but fell short with only 22 votes in favor.
The 10 teams that voted against the ban were the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and Detroit Lions. While opinions about the play are still divided, former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson are firmly in favor.
Johnson, in fact, saluted the teams that opposed the rule change. “Every team that didn’t vote, every team that chose not to vote against the Tush Push, I salute you,” he said on Nightcap.
“I salute you. At this point, every time there’s a play or there’s a situation or scheme that we can’t stop, in the off-season, we’re going to go against it? Like, come on, man,” added Johnson.
The Tush Push is not a patented Eagles play, but they’ve become the best at it. The Eagles successfully executed the Tush Push on 28 of 34 attempts last season — an impressive 82% conversion rate.
Philadelphia has made the Tush Push a staple of its offense since 2022. The team has reached two Super Bowls in the last three years and has won one.
They opened the scoring in Super Bowl 59 with the Tush Push from the 1-yard line and never relinquished the lead. The Tush Push also played a major role in their 55-23 dismantling of the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.
Much of the success stems from their overwhelmingly huge offensive line. They averaged 6’6″ and 338 pounds last season, the largest group ever assembled on Super Sunday. And quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose explosive lower-body strength and instincts make him perfectly suited for Tush Push.
Sharpe agreed with Johnson and compared the Tush Push opposers to how others would complain about Terrell Owens’ touchdowns. “If you don’t like it, stop it,” he said.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie called the vote outcome a “win-win,” and the team celebrated with a playful tweet featuring quarterback Hurts and the caption, “Push on.”
Other former players, including Pat McAfee and A.J. Hawk, also defended the play. McAfee praised the 10 dissenting teams for “wanting to play football”. He argued on The Pat McAfee Show that there’s nothing unfair about the Tush Push. Hawk agreed, saying he has no problem with the play and sees no reason to ban it.
The Tush Push is a legal tactic available to every team. It’s effective, sure — but not unstoppable. And it hasn’t been shown to increase injury risk, which should be the primary concern when evaluating whether a play belongs in the game.
As things stand, the only real solution is the same as it’s always been in football: Stop it on the field.
