The more success the Eagles see with their signature “tush push,” the more people want it gone. During their 40-22 Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles scored the first touchdown of the game using the famed “tush push.” They converted 28 of 34 tush push attempts during the season.
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The success rate is such that Eagles players have even stopped trying to disguise it. The quarterback sneak has existed for decades and involves the quarterback falling forward to gain a yard or two. But the Eagles have perfected the play by leveraging a lesser-known rule that allows teammates to assist each other from behind, effectively enhancing the traditional sneak’s effectiveness.
“I really don’t,” Chiefs DC Steve Spags had said when asked if he saw any way to stop the Eagles’ tush push. Obviously, opposing teams who have been unable to manipulate the play like the Eagles have aren’t fans.
The Green Bay Packers have even submitted a proposal to ban the iconic play ahead of the new season and now several analysts have come out in support of the league taking the proposal seriously. Chris Russo is one of them. Russo is desperately in favor of the league discontinuing the play because he doesn’t “like it at all.”
“I’m against it. It’s a non-athletic play. It’s a rugby play and not an execution play. It’s nothing against the Eagles. They’ve perfected it. I don’t like the play. I’d like to see them get rid of it. I know Goodell doesn’t like it either. We just have to wait and see,” he said on the Rich Eisen Show.
The high success rate of the “tush push” play led the NFL’s rules committee to consider banning it last offseason. However, instead of eliminating the play entirely, they added a stipulation requiring players who assist the quarterback to line up at least a yard behind him. This adjustment aimed to maintain the play’s legality while addressing concerns about its execution.
Apart from the entirety of the Packers team, and Russo, Bills HC Sean McDermott, Falcons’ head coach Raheem Morris have also expressed their distaste for the play, though, they have not produced any legitimate argument against the play. But with so many now pushing to have the play banned, will the league finally bite the bullet and do away with it?
If the rule change proposal gets to a vote at next month’s annual league meetings, it would take 24 of 32 owners to pass it. Which seems unlikely.
In even more good news for the Eagles, NFL executive VC of football operations Troy Vincent revealed during the NFL Combine that zero injuries were suffered on the Tush Push/Brotherly Shove during the 2024 season—making any arguments around player safety baseless.
The Tush Push isn’t anti-football—it’s the essence of football. The game is built on physicality, with eleven players trying to overpower and outmaneuver the opposing eleven, and embodies creativity in play calling. Calling it a “non-execution” play is just lazy.
The Tush Push requires precision, timing, and execution. Jalen Hurts has to control the ball without fumbling, while his teammates must synchronize their movements flawlessly. The repeated pushing takes a toll on his body, but he’s built for it—and if he’s not complaining, why should anyone else?
Banning it would be the real anti-football move. The NFL has already softened the game, phasing out many hard hits and tackles. Eliminating yet another physical play would contradict what football prides itself on—being the most intense and physically demanding sport.
