The “tush push,” which was made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles, has become a controversial play in the NFL. Defenses can’t figure out a way to stop the new version of the quarterback sneak, and other teams also can’t master it the way the Eagles have.
The Green Bay Packers proposed a rule that will essentially ban the play from NFL games, preventing a player in the backfield from “immediately” pushing the ball carrier forward the way it’s done with the “tush push.”
Sean McVay is on the NFL competition committee so he discusses rule proposals with teams and he’s torn on outlawing the Eagles’ patented push. He reportedly got into a heated exchange with Eagles GM Howie Roseman and assistant GM Jon Ferrari at the annual league meeting on Sunday about the rule, which he didn’t deny when asked about it on ProFootballTalk Monday morning.
“Ha, I saw that actually,” McVay said about the report, laughing it off.
McVay explained his stance on the tush push, sharing what he told Roseman and Ferrari during their conversation. He doesn’t want to ban it because they’ve mastered it, but he also wishes the play was never allowed in the first place.
“I don’t believe in taking something out because they do it better than anybody else. And I told both John and Howie that when we were talking yesterday,” McVay said. “What I don’t like is the optics of that play. It looks like a rugby scrum. And there are some health and safety things, which those things exist in short-yardage and goal line situations, as well. So I'm kind of conflicted because you don’t want to be a hater because they do it better than anybody else, so I don’t agree with that. But I also wish we didn’t let the play in in the first place, in regards to the optics of what it looks like. It doesn’t look like football to me. And John and those guys, they understood it, but obviously, you know where they stand on that.”
McVay doesn’t sound confident the Packers’ proposal to outlaw the tush push will have enough support from owners, suggesting it may have to be revisited at the next meeting in the summer or potentially in 2026.
The vote will come on Tuesday to determine whether it passes or not, and obviously the Eagles hope they can continue to use it in short-yardage and goal line situations. McVay is torn on whether he wants it banned and he’s probably not the only one, but it’ll take 24 teams to vote in favor of the Packers’ proposal to get it banned.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Tush push ban: Sean McVay is conflicted, wishes it was never allowed