The tush push is here to stay. Maybe. Or maybe not. We may find out one way or another this week.
A decision on the fate of the controversial play may come this week when NFL owners meet May 20 and 21 in Minneapolis and vote on a proposal to ban it, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The proposal to ban the play was tabled April 1 at the NFL league meetings in Palm Beach, Florida.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that I have a prediction on how it’s going to come out, but there was a lot that was discussed when we were together in March around whether, that is a football play, whether it is appropriate if one or two teams do effectuate a play extremely well to take that away from them,” NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller told reporters May 15 in a conference call, according to NBC Sports.
The tush push has been popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles over the last few seasons. The team used it during its 40-22 thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 in February. Quarterback Jalen Hurts plunged into the end zone for the first score of the game, setting the tone in a contest where the Eagles never trailed.
The tush push has garnered much attention in recent years, as the Eagles are at the forefront of the play, which is also regularly employed by the Buffalo Bills.
“I think I have the easiest job, to be honest. I think I’m the one who pushes the tush,” Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said when he and Hurts appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” after their Super Bowl win.
While the Eagles have been the most noteworthy team to utilize the play, there are many critics who cite potential injury risk.
“Opponents have cast the play as a danger to player safety, while supporters of preserving the play have pointed to a lack of data backing these claims,” NFL.com reports.
So, let’s dive into what the hoopla is all about.
What is the tush push?
The play is legal and as simple as it is silly-sounding. It's called when a team is in need of a yard (or less) to get either a first down or plunge into the end zone for a touchdown. The quarterback stands under the center, who snaps him the ball. Multiple players are positioned behind the quarterback and push and shove him for the little yardage that’s needed.
The Eagles have a high-flying offense capable of gaining massive chunks of yardage and putting up points aplenty, but the tush push (which has even inspired a spontaneous song) has become their hallmark since they began regularly employing it during the 2022 season. Hurts more often than not picks up the necessary yards, spurring the Eagles faithful into a frenzy when they see the now-infamous play.
Who benefits from the tush push?
The Eagles, of course. When executed properly, it has prevented them from giving the ball back to their opponent by either punting or failing to convert on fourth down, while also keeping drives alive or finishing them off altogether with a touchdown.
While other teams have employed the tush push, it's most closely associated with the Eagles because of the success they've had with it.
“You guys know my opinion on it,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said April 1 before the previous scheduled vote, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“I’m not going to continue to dive into it. My opinion is very well documented and I won’t continue to dive into that. I think maybe that’s why there’s so many cameras here today to talk about that. I still stand where I stood when we talked at the combine. We’ll see how it goes down. Have I been lobbying? I’ve talked to a couple people, yeah. We’ll see how it goes today.”
Why is it controversial?
Not everyone is on board with the notion that players can push their teammate for extra yardage. Typically, a quarterback has to follow his blockers to sneak for the little yardage needed, as opposed to getting pushed from behind.
The debate over its merit has intensified in recent years. Cris Collinsworth, a former wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals who calls NFL games on NBC's "Sunday Night Football," once said there are concerns about safety.
"Well, I think they’re going to say player safety is one of them," he told TODAY in a segment that aired December 2023. "You’ve got a lot of players lowering their heads — the centers, the guards, the defensive linemen — trying to get underneath the other players."
Even retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, who snapped the ball on the play during his time with the team, had enough of the talk about the tush push in 2023.
“Listen, ban it. I really, at this point, I don’t care,” he said during a Dec. 6, 2023, episode of his “New Heights” podcast that he hosts with his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I’m over the discussion about it.”
“We were really good at running the quarterback sneak before we did the push,” he continued.
“I don’t think that it’s a necessary part for it. It certainly helps, there’s no question about it. I don’t have the energy to care about whether it gets banned or not. We’re going to run it right now because we’re good at it and it’s effective.” (Kelce has commented on the tush push since.)
Will the tush push be banned?
That’s the $64,000 question. A vote on a proposal by the Green Bay Packers to ban the tush push was tabled on April 1 until a later date, according to NFL Network insiders at the time. A vote is now expected this week, per Schefter.
What do critics of the tush push have to say about it?
Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy openly expressed his desire to outlaw the play in March 2023, saying, “I raised this issue with the league regarding potential rule changes.”
More recently, he said in February 2025 he is "not a fan" of the play.
He’s hardly alone.
“I would personally like to see it eliminated,” former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said early in the 2023 season.
“Not just because (the Eagles) run it better than anybody — although they do run it better than anybody — but I don’t think that’s a football play. I think that’s a nice rugby play, and not what we’re looking for in football. But until it’s outlawed, we’ll prepare for it and get ready to do our best to stop it.”
Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay, who is the co-chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee, also said he had some issues with the "aesthetics of the play."
“I would say that there are definitely some people that have health and safety concerns but there’s just as many people that have football concerns,” he said April 1, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“... I wouldn’t say it was because of one particular health and safety video or discussion. It was much more about the play, the aesthetics of the play, is it what football has been traditionally, is it more a rugby play. All those types of discussions. Health and safety is still there, that potential, but I wouldn’t go beyond that.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is also against the tush push.
“When you look at the play, I would say I don’t think it’s a great football play,” LaFleur said in a video posted by The Athletic on April 1. “It’s more of a rugby play. Some of the injury concerns, we want to just kinda get out in front of that and be a little bit more proactive.”
What do supporters have to say about it?
While many people oppose the tush push, there are those who are OK with it.
“They’ve done a good job of creating a play that is hard to stop," New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters March 31. “My job is to stop that play.”
Commanders running back Austin Ekeler has also been among those who think it highlights the fundamentals of the game.
“It’s football, right?” Ekeler, then with the Los Angeles Chargers, said in December 2023 on Peacock’s “Brother From Another.” “What is football? Football is you got to go that way, they have to go this way, and so if we get guys behind each other and we’re pushing our bodies into you, through you, past you, then that’s what football is.
“At a fundamental level, we got to go that way. How do we do that? We got to block the guys in front of us. OK, boom, let’s do that. Also, hey, you get some help. When I’m a running back and I have someone behind me, pushing me as we get the pile going, it’s one of the best feelings because you feel like you’re all connected and you feel like, ‘Hey, we’re imposing our will on somebody and they can’t stop us’ and we fall forward.’”
