Bear Digest

Chicago Bears will face 'tush push' in Week 13 as vote to ban the play fails

The Philadelphia Eagles had reason to celebrate today as they won a vote to keep their infamous 'tush push' play legal by a count of 22-10.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

Call it the Tush Push or the Brotherly Shove, love it or hate it, the modified quarterback sneak play made infamous by the Philadelphia Eagles lives on. During a meeting of NFL team owners, a vote was held on a measure proposed by the Green Bay Packers to ban not only the Tush Push but also any pushing of a ball carrier by a teammate. 24 votes were needed to pass the measure, but it failed by a vote of 22-10.

Incidentally, 22-10 was the final score of Green Bay's humiliating loss to the Eagles in the 2024 Wild Card round. It would have been worse, but Eagles running back Saquon Barkley gave himself up on what would have been a touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, allowing the clock to continue running out.

This means that the Philadelphia Eagles will be free to deploy their favorite short-yardage play in 2025, including against the Chicago Bears in Week 13. These two teams have not met since the 2022 season, and the Bears have completely transformed into a new team since then.

This will be Caleb Williams' first shot at a defending champion and will serve as an excellent test of how much he's grown since his rookie season. By Week 13, ideally, the Bears should be in a groove and should make for a competitive matchup, even against the juggernaut from Philadelphia.

Ironically, if the Bears want to stop the Tush Push in that matchup, they may have to look to their bitter rival, the Green Bay Packers. Despite proposing the measure to ban the play, the Packers have proven better than most defenses at stopping it. Head coach Ben Johnson will need to get with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and pore over all the film they have of those two teams facing off and find out what the Packers did that worked.

Bears fans will just have to trust in their coaching staff to get the right plan and trust in their players to have the strength to overcome Philly's dominant offensive line. Players like Gervon Dexter Sr. and Andrew Billings, who is set to return from his season-ending injury, will be key.

Gervon Dexte
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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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