The NFL Has Lost All Interest in Banning the Tush Push

NFL owners are getting together in Arizona next week for the annual league meeting. A number of topics will be discussed, but one that will be noticeably absent is any talk about banning the tush push.

According to Adam Schefter, the competition committee will discuss five rule proposals and none of them have anything to do with players pushing a ball-carrrier directly into the line of scrimmage in short yardage. This is quite a difference from last year when the Packers proposed a rule to ban the play, which led to the Eagles sending in Jason Kelce to give a passionate speech in front of the owners and the rule falling short by just two votes.

After the league failed to ban the play, Philadelphia came into the season and really annoyed everyone. With the play under more scrutiny than ever they defiantly proceeded to run it over and over while officials mostly ignore false starts that seemed very blatant in slow motion. Just two weeks into the season Schefter was saying the play was on "life support." Kelce also thought the play was "done."

Then a funny thing happened. The Eagles, who popularized and perfected the play en route to a Super Bowl, started to struggle a little bit. They spent their season fighting amongst themselves and backed into the playoffs where they were quickly eliminated by the 49ers in the wild-card round. Just when it seemed like their reign of terror would never end... it ended.

Now, no one seems to care anymore. Perhaps because the league has caught up to the play. Or maybe the Eagles just weren't as good.

When the Eagles went 14-3 and won the Super Bowl they converted on 79.6% of their "Brotherly Shove" attempts. Last year they were down to 63.6%. These statistics are from the very real TushPush.fyi which tracks the play for some teams, shows you how they all voted on the rule and even has a helpful little icon with a flashing dog at the top of the page alerting you that the play is still legal.

tush push stats — This website tracks the tush push. | tushpush.fy

That's how much people cared about this play just a year or two ago. Now the passion is gone. It's just another short yardage play that every team has in their playbook, but there's no certainty that they'll actually call it.

It's never been more clear that opposition to the play was simply out of annoyance towards the Eagles' success. Teams adapted. Instead of the play going the way of the wildcat, most teams have adapted a version of the play. The Seahawks even had a special name for their tush push during their run to the Super Bowl last season. Via ESPN:

“[AJ] Barner has been one of the less-heralded factors in Seattle's offensive success, adding seven touchdowns during a second-year breakout. One of those scores came via the "Barnyard," which has produced an additional 13 first downs with only one failed attempt. The play that Barner has helped execute to near perfection has turned short-yardage situations from a struggle for the Seahawks in 2024 to a strength in 2025.”

Seattle tight end AJ Barner lined up under center to run the tush push 10 times during the regular season and got a first down on nine of those attempts and scored a touchdown. He also ran it once for a first down against the 49ers in the divisional round.

So it seems the Eagles were the real problem all along. If they can practice moderation next season and referees start throwing flags when people move early, business can continue as usual and people will find something else to complain about.

More NFL from Sports Illustrated