Why TreVeyon Henderson’s First TD in Patriots-Jets Could Be Illegal Next Season

New England’s rookie running back scored on the second play of the second quarter.

The Patriots pushed in TreVeyon Henderson for a touchdown in the second quarter on Thursday. / @Patriot

The Patriots hosted the Jets on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 11 on Amazon Prime from Foxborough, Mass. After an opening drive for New York that lasted more than eight minutes and ended in a touchdown, New England answered with its own 13-play, 69-yard drive for a touchdown.

TreVeyon Henderson scored on the second play of the second quarter. Henderson took a pitch from Drake Maye and made a couple guys miss before he ran into linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Henderson spun around in Sherwood's arms and that's when his teammates got involved.

At least four Patriots players got behind Henderson and Sherwood, and pushed them the last couple yards over the goal line before the running back hit the turf in the middle of the end zone.

.@TreVeyonH4 WON'T GO DOWN 😤

📺 Prime Video pic.twitter.com/UuCUU9eDWY

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 14, 2025

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted that the play kind of resembled the “Tush Push,” while his colleague Mike Garafolo explained that this play might have been illegal if the league had voted to ban the “Tush Push” during the offseason. And it might be illegal next season if enough teams are finally done with the Eagles' signature play.

However, a ban on standard pushing was part of the revised proposal up for voting this past spring. Not sure if this would’ve technically been a flag. The #Patriots’ blockers are mostly pushing #Jets defenders who are pushing Henderson. All legal right now. Check back in 2026. https://t.co/42D8FNkVhh

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 14, 2025

Pushing the ballcarrier was previously against the rules in the NFL until 2005, but as Mike Pereira noted while talking about the “Tush Push” three years ago, it was too difficult to referee.

“What the league found was so difficult was you never were sure who was pushing who,” said Mike Pereira, the former NFL director of officials who became the rules analyst for Fox [via LA Times:]. “So you’re not necessarily pushing the runner. You could be pushing someone else that’s in contact with the runner. So it became really too difficult to officiate. Therefore, we just said, ‘O.K., it’s legal to push.’”

Now because of Philadelphia, this may be the last season we see it. Legally at least.

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