At the annual spring league meetings, the NFL owners tabled a vote on banning the “tush push” this week, but it wasn’t because the conversation cooled off. If anything, it’s just starting to heating up. What started as a short-yardage cheat code has now become a full-blown political drama. And somehow, safety is the scapegoat.
Except there’s one problem: there’s no data to back up that concern.
The tush push, made famous (and almost unstoppable) by the Philadelphia Eagles, is a modern-day QB sneak that looks more like a rugby scrum than a traditional NFL play. It’s effective and it’s legal.
And it’s been a nightmare for defenses trying to stop Jalen Hurts and his O-line from bullying their way to a first down or a touchdown.
Naturally, the team that got bounced by Philly in the playoffs (hi, Green Bay) decided it was time for the league to step in. They proposed a rule change that would specifically outlaw the play.
The reason? Player safety.The evidence? None.
The NFL’s health and safety department confirmed that there were zero documented injuries tied to the tush push in 2024. But some owners said it “feels unsafe” or “looks dangerous,” which is basically the football equivalent of “I just have a bad feeling.”
Roger Goodell used phrases like “mechanism of injury” to justify keeping the conversation alive. Meanwhile, the league’s willingness to approve other rule changes based on actual data proves they know how to act decisively when the numbers back it up.
So why is this the play getting so much attention?
Is this actually about safety?
Let’s talk facts. Only two teams ran the tush push consistently last season: the Eagles and the Bills. That’s 65 out of 101 league-wide attempts. This isn’t an epidemic. This is two teams that found a way to execute something the rest of the league can’t seem to figure out.
It’s not about fairness. It’s about frustration.
And it’s not lost on anyone that the Eagles have won a Super Bowl behind this play. Suddenly, football’s gatekeepers want to talk about “what the game was meant to be.” It’s giving protect the legacy team at all costs energy.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said it plainly, "I don't ever remember a play being banned because a single team or a few teams were running it effectively. It's part of what I think most of us love about football is it's a chess match. Let the chess match play out."
Exactly. If one team is playing the game better, the answer isn’t to flip the board.
Philly’s dominance on the tush push comes down to coaching, reps, and elite personnel. Their O-line is different. Jalen Hurts is different. And they didn’t just stumble onto the play. They perfected it. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni even called it insulting that people act like it’s automatic.
"I almost feel a little insulted because we work so hard at that play...There’s a thousand plays out there, but it comes down to how you teach the fundamentals and how the players go through and do the fundamentals," Sirianni said, "I can’t tell you how many times we practice the snap, we practice the play...we work really, really hard and our guys are talented at this play. It’s a little insulting to say we’re good at it so it’s automatic."
It’s not a hack. It’s a flex. And rather than rising to meet it, teams like the Packers want to rewrite the rules.
While the Tush Push Waits, Other Rule Changes Move Forward
While the league tabled the tush push debate for another day, several ...
