The Philadelphia Eagles‘ “Tush Push” play will remain a part of the National Football League for at least another season, after an effort to ban the controversial move fell short of the required votes. The Eagles have used the play with notable effectiveness, converting third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations 91.3 percent of the time since 2022.
Former Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee and Super Bowl champion coach Bill Cowher commented on the play’s aesthetics and strategy. “I just don’t think it’s a good looking play,” Cowher said. “I just don’t think there’s anything strategic about it.” He also expressed concern about fairness in the current rules: “If you can aid the offensive guy, why can’t you aid the defensive person? I just think there’s unfairness to the rules for this to be played. I just don’t think it’s a good looking play. I just don’t think there’s anything strategic about it.”
CBS analyst Charles Davis addressed its impact compared to quarterback sneaks in previous eras, stating, “It’s not the aesthetically pleasing part like some say (…) The idea that you can assist a runner like that when he had all those years you couldn’t — if you can duck down. The greatest QB we ever had could duck down and get a QB sneak without assistance, and he did it really well. (Tom) Brady did that.”
Nate Burleson, former NFL wide receiver and studio analyst, added his perspective on potential future changes: “I bet you if Coach Cowher, if the Pittsburgh Steelers were good at the tush push when he was coaching — he’d be perfectly fine with it (…) Love him to death, but I’m a pro-tush push guy. Just because a team gets good at it, doesn’t mean you have to pull it from the game.” On adjustments that might balance offense and defense within league rules, Burleson continued: “Here’s where I do feel for the defense. You can’t do any torpedo-like leaping, and there’s all these rules against defenders (…) Now on offense, you get those scrum rules as a rugby team. I get that part of it. Loosen up some of the rules against the defense, and I think it would be more evenly balanced.”
Cowher voiced concerns over player safety related to pushing during plays: “I think a lot of these ‘tush pushes’ you’re seeing, we are not even seeing the push take place on the back (…). So I think a lot of it right now… A quarterback sneak is fine. I just think it’s the aiding and abiding. The problem I have is not even with the ‘tush push,’ but the pushing of a runner. Even when a runner is down the field, we see guys pushing piles. And that’s when people can really get hurt too (…) I think the officials are not as quick with their whistle, which constantly leads to sometimes an extra guy coming in with an extra burst of inertia, which puts someone in an awkward position. From a safety standpoint, I think it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Davis suggested motivations behind keeping or banning this specific tactic: “I’m thoroughly convinced the reason it stayed this year is that a lot of people didn’t want to vote it out of existence (…) Because of the team that just won the Super Bowl.”
Regarding performance without use of this particular technique in prior seasons by Philadelphia’s quarterback Jalen Hurts and teammates Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson–statistics show high conversion rates even before adoption of what has become known as “Tush Push.” Davis observed about Hurts’ athletic ability: “It doesn’t matter if it’s the Eagles or anyone else (…) Give Jalen credit, he’s a 600-pound squatter. He doesn’t need any assistance. If you commit to it, you have a chance to be pretty good at it.”
Though discussion around banning or altering how teams may execute similar plays is expected at future meetings among team owners—with proposals such as one by Green Bay Packers originating out of reported safety concerns—no rule change has been finalized yet.
The issue remains under debate within both league leadership and football analysts as teams prepare for upcoming games.
