The “Tush Push” has become what appears to be nothing short of a cheat code for the Philadelphia Eagles, and some of their NFL competitors aren’t happy about it.
Specifically, the Green Bay Packers recently filed a petition to ban the play that entails teammates shoving a quarterback forward on a designed QB sneak. The play’s detractors often point to safety concerns as the reason why they want the play outlawed.
Nick Sirianni passionately defended the play during the NFL Scouting Combine, and it’s easy to see why the Eagles head coach is vehemently opposed to the “Tush Push” getting sidelined.
The play was an integral part of the Eagles’ successful 2024 Super Bowl run. Including the playoffs, Philadelphia was 39 of 48 converting the “Tush Push” into a first down or touchdown in 2024. Of the nine times they failed, the Eagles followed with a first down or touchdown on the very next play eight times while running the “Tush Push” again. Week 1 was the only time the “Tush Push” was truly stopped, and that was Cam Jurgens’ first start at center following Jason Kelce’s retirement.
Kelce views banning the play as being against the spirit of competition. “Maybe the Eagles just happen to be really, really good at it,” he recently said on “The Steam Room” podcast, via ABC News New York. “Is that fair to necessarily punish a team just because they’re better at it than everybody else? I don’t think that that’s fair.”
NFL rule changes 2025: League to consider virtual measurement and potentially the ‘Tush Push’
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One would expect that the “Tush Push” will be discussed during this year’s NFL owners meeting. If the “Tush Push” is banned, it’ll require at least 75% of the owners to vote in favor of ending the play.
Should the NFL ban the play or should the “Tush Push” live to see another season? CBS Sports NFL writers Bryan DeArdo and Garrett Podell debated both sides of the argument.
‘Tush Push’ not a football play
Bryan DeArdo: Garrett, I’ll keep this short and sweet. The “Tush Push” is not a football play, and that’s the biggest reason why I feel that it should be banned.
Shoving wasn’t allowed in the NFL until 2005, but the rule change wasn’t made because the league thought that shoving was a good thing for the game. The reason why the shove was no longer banned was because it became too difficult to officiate, according to Mike Pereira, the former NFL director of officiating.
However, with today’s technology, it would be relatively easy now to decipher who is pushing. The NFL could reinstitute outlawing shoving now if it wanted to, and it should do just that. The league never intended for teams to implement shoving as a part of a play, and it should make changes to ensure that intentional shoving is not part of the NFL moving forward. It’s not good for football.
‘Tush Push’ a weapon of choice
Garrett Podell: Bryan, I understand where you’re coming from. At times, the “Tush Push” can look like a rugby scrum. However, it’s actually a misconception that the Eagles have a “cheat code” and are far and away better at converting third- or fourth-short situations into first downs and/or touchdowns on that play than the rest of the league entirely.
Philadelphia just happens to be great at the play while using it more than anyone else. According to CBS Sports Research, the Eagles have the most rushing attempts (92) and rushing touchdowns (8) on the quarterback sneak/”Tush Push” play since 2022, including the postseason. That year marked the first of their two Super Bowl appearances in the 2020s. In that span, the Eagles aren’t even the NFL’s most efficient team at converting on the play. Just check the table below.
* NFL average conversion rate in span is 84.2%
Both the Detroit Lions (7 for 7, 100% conversion rate) and the Dallas Cowboys (23 for 25, 92% conversion rate) surprisingly have higher conversion rates than the Eagles (84 for 92, 91.3% conversion rate).
What these numbers indicate is the rest of the league could use the “Tush Push” as a weapon in their arsenal the same as the Eagles, but that’s just not something other teams choose to focus on in practice throughout the year. That’s their choice. Even Sirianni explained that there’s more to the play in terms of technique and coaching than just brute force.
There’s also no precedent to ban a play just because another team is great at something unorthodox. C’mon, Bryan. That’s against the spirit of competition. Just look at the 2008 AFC East champion Miami Dolphins for example. They stunned the New England Patriots with running back Ronnie Brown operating the “Wildcat” formation where he could line up at quarterback to both run and throw the football. Miami ended the Patriots’ 21-game regular-season winning streak with a 38-13 beatdown of New England in which Brown ran for 113 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries while also tossing a 19-yard touchdown to tight end Anthony Fasano. That “Wildcat” play didn’t just rely on Brown lining up at quarterback, but rather all the different fakes, counters and counters off counters they ran from that formation. That’s coaching.
Eventually, NFL defenses adjusted and snuffed it out, thanks to good old-fashioned film study, coaching and on-field execution, capitalizing on Brown’s lack of passing ability.
The league average 84.2% conversion rate on the “Tush Push” play is high, but it’s not unstoppable. Also, the Eagles aren’t running the play without suffering consequences: Jurgens needed to undergo back surgery this offseason. That makes sense because the center’s job on that play is to be the lowest man off the ball, which also means being at the bottom of a pile up involving many men who weigh at least 300 pounds on a consistent basis.
It also helps that the Eagles have a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who can squat over 600 pounds, something he put on display while lifting at the University of Oklahoma. The way Hurts attacks the line of scrimmage as the ball carrier on this play is a skill, something that’s evidenced by Jordan Love, the quarterback of the team who reportedly petitioned to ban this play, getting stuffed on a quarterback sneak in an embarrassing way. Green Bay now has tight end Tucker Kraft take the under center snap on sneak plays in short-yardage situations.
Ultimately, the overarching numbers show other NFL teams can be just as efficient as the Eagles on the “Tush Push” if they put time, effort and energy in doing so. Philadelphia doesn’t have a unique, competitive advantage on it since 2022. Opposing defenses can also avoid having to see this play altogether without it being banned. All they have to do is play better on early downs to prevent the Eagles from getting into third and/or fourth and short situations. It’s that simple.
‘Tush Push’ unsafe, not good football to watch
Bryan DeArdo: I’m glad you mentioned Jurgens’ surgery, Garrett, as I’m sure that was at least partly a byproduct of the play. You don’t need to be a doctor to know that the play involving a number of large humans moving full force into each other while one side is trying desperately to push a player forward is a safety hazard. Not to mention the scrum that is typically the result of that play; anyone who has been at the bottom of one of those can tell you the horrors of being in that situation (ankle twisting, biting, grabbing, you name it).
The NFL recently said that there is no evidence that the “Tush Push” increases injury rates. Let’s remember, though, that the league has often been behind the times when it comes to player safety — it didn’t properly deal with the growing number of concussions until it had already impacted way too many players and families. Let’s not wait for someone to get seriously injured before we do anything this time around.
You talk a lot about success rates and how other teams can also be good at the play. I give the Eagles credit for being so good at it. It’s a reason why they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy earlier this month. They won the Super Bowl at least partly because they were so successful running that play. Kudos to them.
What I’m arguing — aside from the play’s safety concerns — is that the “Tush Push” is simply not good football to watch. For what it’s worth, I don’t love the standard quarterback sneak, either, but it’s a safer, less-effective play than the “Tush Push,” which, as you pointed out, is getting close to being automatic.
If the “Tush Push” isn’t banned, every team will likely start running the play at a considerably high rate, which will lead to more injuries, including quarterbacks. Do you want to see teams run the “Tush Push” several times a game? I certainly don’t, and I don’t think the majority of football fans want to see that, either.
No one wants to watch plays that are basically automatic. That’s why the NFL pushed back the point-after attempts several years ago. Plays with high-success rates are predictable and boring to watch.
It’s important to remember that the NFL is an entertainment business. In 1978, Don Shula (then-Dolphins head coach and head of the league’s competition committee) spearheaded several rules changes that were made in an effort to encourage more passing and higher-scoring games. The NFL expanded the hash marks and made it illegal for defensive backs to make contact with a receiver beyond 5 yards. Many thought that the rules changes were made in an attempt to weaken the Steelers’ defense that had led Pittsburgh to two recent Super Bowl titles.
Ironically, the rules changes only made the Steelers better. Pittsburgh adapted by opening up its offense, while the Steelers’ defense still found ways to be a dominant unit (largely by continuing to be great at pass rushing and stopping the run). The Eagles may be faced with the same challenge now if the NFL does the right thing and bans the “Tush Push” ahead of the 2025 season. Great teams find ways to overcome obstacles.
The ’70s Steelers did nothing illegal: The NFL simply decided that the overall product would be better if changes were made. While lovers of running and physical football (me) paid the price, the NFL has flourished since Shula and Co. made those changes. It should do the same thing now by banning a play that will set the game back decades if it is allowed to continue.
But don’t take my word for it. Bill Cowher, a Hall of Fame coach whose love for physical football is well documented, is emphatically against the “Tush Push” and it’s possible impact on the game.
“It’s not a football play,” Cowher recently said on The Dan Patrick Show. “It’s rugby. They call it a scrum. I mean, that’s what it is, Dan. Let’s call it the way that it is. I mean, you’re pushing people and pushing them over. If it’s just a quarterback sneak, I get it, but it becomes like a push in the back, and it’s a scrum. It’s not a strategical play, in my opinion. … The game of football is more strategic. That’s rugby. Nothing against rugby, but if you want to get a scrum, you want to see a scrum, go to a rugby match.”
That’s it right there. It’s not a football play. When you add in the safety concerns associated with it, banning the “Tush Push” is a decision that’s easier than choosing between ice cream and celery sticks for dessert. While I think the play should be banned, I’m open to a compromise where the NFL makes more adjustments to the “Tush Push” that make it safer and less automatic.
I’ll let you close this out, Garrett, by asking you this question: Do you think the “Tush Push” is an entertaining play that will endure while enhancing the NFL and the game of football in general for future generations? I’ll hang up and listen.
‘Tush Push’ gives the people what they want
Garrett Podell: You brought up some fair points, Bryan. Let’s address them. The risk of injury when running the “Tush Push” play is likely very real, which is why non-Eagles teams are discerning in their usage rate of the play. Philadelphia may get to a place where it runs run it less and less as Hurts ages. Football is an incredibly violent game, and players acknowledge that every time they step on to the field. That’s why the league’s minimum salary is around a million dollars.
As for Cowher’s comments about it not being a football play, that’s subjective. Every football play involves offensive linemen and defensive linemen going to war in the trenches. I do know when I was looking at social media during the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and Washington Commanders, people were loving Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu’s creative attempts to stop the “Tush Push.”
Bottom line is the data shows other teams can be just as effective as the Eagles on the play, meaning it’s not a unique advantage Plus, defenses won’t see the “Tush Push” if they win on early downs. People love watching football because it’s the modern-day version of gladiators going at it in the Colosseum. The “Tush Push” gives the people what they want. If teams don’t want to see it, all they have to do is be better on first and second down. That’s it. Let NFL teams continue to innovate and allow fans to watch what they came to see.
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