A little over a month ago, efforts toward a league-wide rule that would essentially ban the short-yardage play that has, affectionately, come to be known as the “tush push” fell short — the Packers’ proposal reportedly failed 16-16 in a 32-team vote, and three-fourths (or 28) teams are required to pass a vote. According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, we could see a new motion pass later this month that would effectively ban the play. 
It’s believed that the Packers’ proposal was “narrowly configured and written,” aiming too directly at the Eagles (and Bills, who have also frequently utilized the play). It attempted to prohibit “an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap,” making the action worthy of a 10-yard penalty.
The new version of the proposal is currently unwritten, as it has not yet formally been modified, but it will move its focus towards pushing or pulling ball carriers anywhere on the field. While no injury data has really shown any direct harm from the play, NFL health and safety officials have repeatedly expressed injury-related concerns about it. This would potentially act as a reversal of a rule-change in 2006 that made it legal to push or pull players as part of a football play.
Obviously, this doesn’t apply to blocking and tackling situations, in which pushing and pulling are natural parts of the game. What this new wording could affect is plays in which a ball-carrier gets stood up by a defender but remains upright and another offensive player begins to push the two players up the field, sometimes resulting in a scrum that can surge forwards or backwards several yards. Plays like this have often been viewed as hustle plays, in which offensive linemen are lauded for churning out some extra yards, so it would be interesting to see such a play potentially become a penalty.
The play could also be linked to another league concern, and a play that has also seen several rule adjustments: field goal rushing. Some coaches have connected the new proposal to a previous rule-change that prohibits defensive players from pushing teammates to aid in attempting to block a field goal attempt. There’s a chance the new wording of the rule would prevent defenders from pushing or pulling any players they haven’t engaged with in either a block attempt or tackle attempt, meaning an offensive player couldn’t push a teammate into a defender to block them or a defensive player couldn’t push a teammate into a blocker or ball-carrier.
Such intricacies of a proposal like this are likely why it has not yet been formally changed, but there’s an expectation that it will be ready in time for the owners meeting in Minneapolis on May 20-21. Confidence that the proposal will pass this time around stems from a belief that the league office is in support of the rule-change, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Florio states that, if his sense that the league office wants to get rid of the maneuver is accurate, they might twist some arms in order to acquire the eight additional votes they need to pass the proposal.
3/4 of 32 is 28?
Mah 28 is 7/8 of 32. Maybe Ely was testing the stereotype about sports fans.
Don’t get me wrong – I hate the Eagles with a passion, but in what world does it make sense to ban that play?
This all started with Lafleur who just couldn’t find a way to stop it. Other coaches couldn’t as well, but he’s the only one who ran to his FO crying for a rule change.
The play was illegal forever. Not sure the 2006 rule change is correct. It seems it was changed in the last 4-5 years but not sure. That seems to be the time I remember it starting. When I was officiating HS Football it was illegal but ignored unless highly obvious. I called it once in 20 years. The center grabbed the RB and pulled him into the end zone. The play to me is not consistent with the game. I absolutely hate the way it is now. I will be glad to have it changed. I respect your feelings on it and will still watch no matter what they do.
I respect the opinions here but I see a slippery slope in where you draw the line. For years Tom Brady (among many QBs) would take his long arm over the top of the pile, reach over and break the plain. If he was short, his RB would crash behind him to get the extra yardage. Same thing when an RB gets stood up and gets some help from his full back for extra yards. I would hate to see all of these football plays (which have been part of the game) be banned.
Nukeg there is a huge difference between Brady stretching his arm over and 2 guys lining up right behind him and pushing him at the snap. Also the RB pushing him has widely been ignored because it is not the play call. When officiating you have to work in the gray areas or you won’t last long. The good officials knows when to work in the gray and when to be literal. Like Raider said as an official it irks me to see them lineup and deliberately push the QB. I am pretty sure it is against college rules too. There are too many rules that start with the NFL get passed down to CFB then to HS.
The pants are one thing they might as well be wearing shorts. I do believe College wore them above the knee first could be wrong. One of the biggest causes of concussions is an unpadded knee to the head. The quarter size pad they were wearing didn’t help much. Now we have MLB players wearing their pants above the knee. I don’t care about it just think it looks stupid. I was always pants to the knees I know it is old fashioned but so am I.
Let the RB hit him from behind but it is one hit and done. It is not 2 people or 3 if you motion a guy to hit him too. Then let them do a sustained push. There are rules that can be changed but some should stay the same.
As a HS football official it’s an easy call for us. This play is not within the (NFHS) federation rules.
Helping/assisting the runner is when an offensive player assists the ball carrier’s forward progress by pushing, pulling, or lifting
I get it’s a federation rule (I’d have to oook at the NFL rule) as rules are different in HS, CFB and NFL
But these guys are pros
In the NFL If you cannot, on your own make the first down without assistance then maybe don’t run the play. When players line up behind you to “assist” you in a run by pushing I feel
It cheapens the game. It’s already not allowed in HS per federation rules (as I stated) . Why allow it in the NFL?. The ultimate “PRO” league. That’s not very pro IMO. I get the arguments for it will say “well stop it” but it’s not man vs man. If you’re able to push from the back upon the snap that’s assisting the runner IMO. Different if it’s in a pile up. But yeah my 2 cents. I’m
Sure there will be disagreements all around
This is dumb, the only thing wrong with the play is some teams aren’t good at it and they can’t stop it without a rule change.
End of the day NFL is an entertainment business and that play kills the entertainment value of short yardage high leverage situations.
Ahh yes cus punts are much more entertaining
And field goals as well.
You guys can disagree with it and not like it all you want but that’s why it’s on the chopping block.
Well, punts are more interesting when there’s a return.
It doesn’t always happen, and we can argue about how appropriate a tush push ban actually is, but punt returns are DEFINITELY more interesting than a two or three yard unstoppable play.
D Hester made a HoF career returning them for the Bears!
The Eagles are toast if that play gets banned.
Ever seen S Barkley run the ball?
Yes, I have. I live in Philly. He’s a monster, and I love the guy (even tho I hate the Eagles), but he doesn’t have the same conversion rate as the tush push.
With a qb that squats 600 and that off line think they will be fine with qb sneak as is.. guess that will be banned next
We have a huge offensive line and three players behind it who squat 400+. I’m pretty sure we can convert without the tush push.
if it’s truly a “safety issue” .. all short yardage sneaks should be banned
Anyone who watched the draft knows that banning Goodell from riding a bicycle would advance public safety immensely 🙂
That reeked to me of desperation. It was like they were trying to make a robot look human.
No Fun League at it again
The tush push isn’t fun, it’s boring and inevitable
Ban success unless a white boy do it. Tom Brady can’t squat a hotdog so this isn’t worth saving. 😂
Embarrassing making it about race.
I know. I have kids.
Oh come on. Teams should have to stop it if they don’t like it. Defensive tackles are getting paid enough now. And it’s not like it’s sweeping the league. The Giants tried it the other year and their center got injured.
Goodell keeps yapping and claiming it’s going to happen, but the reality is, you still need to sway 8 teams. Some seem like they’re willing to, but unless you give the rest a reason to, why should they?
The weird thing is how much “the league” supposedly wants this, when half the teams said no to it. Goodell serves at the behest of the owners – it’s weird that “the shield” would have a different view than many of the teams.
Banning this play is so soft. Proposed by someone who can’t make his wife happy.
Banning it is a bltch move
Period
End of debate
Eagles fan here
I’m fine with them banning the play… as long as they name it the Jalen Hurts Rule. Would be quite the feather in the cap for Jalen and the team that they became so elite at perfecting a legal rushing concept that a majority of the league voted to ban it. 😎
Come on Roger, Chiefs weren’t down by 40 in a SB because of this play.
The Eagles were there because of the play.
No, they were there because of Saquon and the defense.
Terrible precedent that will be punished by the birds completely dominate again in the NFC.
Im fine either way ban or no ban
But its always been stupid to say defenders cant shove each other in the back cause safety but then allow ppl to push the QB in the back for forward progress
You either let both sides of the ball do it or neither side can do it. Thats really the fair way to approach it.
Can you imagine how many more sacks say Aaron Donald would have had if a linebacker came up pushed him in the back adding more momentum to Donald obliterating the oline block in a second and heading straight for the QB faster?
if they are treating both sides fairly how about penalties that grant automatic first downs when the defense commits the penalty causes the offense to automatically go 4th down plus the penalty yards. I mean why not make that fair as well. Like offensive pass interference, personal fouls, etc etc.
I’d be a fan of that proposal (which would never pass). Honestly, I don’t even know why kids play defense anymore, given how much they’re handicapped, and how much more money on average most offensive players make relative to defensive players. Before comparing actual salaries, remember to consider comparing the fines to each side of the ball.
So, instead of just ruining the “tush push” play for teams that run it, they decide to expand upon the rule as to make it not so obvious what team(s) it targets.
In effect, we will now see more ridiculous flags thrown after an O-lineman tries pushing his RB or receiver forward after they are stood-up downfield near the goal line or 1st-down marker.
That will now result in a 10-yard penalty instead of being an exciting play within the sport (should the rule pass as described in the article). Not impressed, Goodell.
Pushing a player forward is an exciting play? Perhaps they should allow the pushing both ways, offense and defense, and remove the forward progress rule. The ball carrier can be down wherever they are pushed when the whistle blows.
Yes, it is. When somebody gets stood up, then both full teams collide and the ball carrier gets pushed forward yard after yard after yard, it’s exciting.
If you don’t think it’s exciting than I would say you’re the type that watches the Super Bowl for the Halftime Show.
Excellent article , thank you !
Philly eagles center Jason Kelce (retired) hated the play. Made a remark the play is going to kill me. Tell me it ain’t dangerous.
How many first downs does Tom Brady having running up the gut for 1 yard? Same for every other QB in the league. Just because the Eagles gave it a new name doesn’t mean it’s a new play. It’s been done for the entire history of the game.
There’s a vast difference between Brady running for a yard, and Hurts getting pushed across the line of scrimmage for a yard….never been a fan of ball carriers whose forward progress is pretty much stopped only to have a lineman or multiple players run down field into the standing pile and push forward for more yards…..Ref’s have let this go for years, yet have a quick whistle on forward progress many times…..
Do just take everything out of context? He said it would kill him due to the amount of effort he had to extrude for that one play. Had nothing to do with it being dangerous.
What am I taking out of context? QB sneaks have been around forever.
From google: A quarterback sneak is a football play where the quarterback, immediately after receiving the snap, runs or dives forward to gain a small amount of yardage, often used in short-yardage situations. While the play is often expected to gain only a yard or two, it can be surprisingly effective, especially in red zone situations.
Well your first error is relying on Google for a definition….lol….don’t really think the Tush Push should be categorized as a “QB sneak” as when they line up everyone, including Grandma in the stadium, knows what’s coming…….a QB sneak is not as easily recognized at the line…..I guess we’ll see what happens but as I said, pushing an offensive player forward for gains of yardage is going to be the nexus of the debate…..
It’s the exact same play. The QB lounges forward for a few yards.
Your last point ‘…pushing an offensive player forward for gains of yardage is going to be the nexus of the debate…..’ We see it every year when OL push RB’s down the field for more yardage as well.
Arty you really think it is the same? It was illegal when Brady played. They didn’t line up 2 people behind the QB and after he took the snap push him. 2 very different plays. It has been illegal for more years than legal. It can’t be ruining the game if it was illegal longer than legal unless you think the game was ruined before.
How is pushing the QB any different than the OL pushing a RB? This happens nonstop.
link to youtube.com
Well arty we’ll have to agree to disagree…..in my mind, the Tush Push isn’t a QB lunge more than its players behind him pushing Hurts for example forward whereas the old style QB sneak was a QB lunging/running/leaping forward by himself without any assistance by players lined up behind him…..to me, two different scenarios……..
Being banned because defenses cannot stop it when excited properly?
Next is the teams crying that a certain quarterback has too strong of an arm and will ban any passes over 20 yards downfield.
The league has been promoting offense for years…..defenses are at a severe disadvantage trying “stop the play’……again, I think offensive players pushing another offensive player forward for the purpose of gaining yardage should not be allowed……..and that’s the nexus of the Tush Push…..Hurts isn’t gaining that yardage without help……
Hot take – it should be banned. Simply based off the playoff game (commanders I think?) where they were trying to stop it but went offsides. The refs then told them if they go offsides again then the refs would just appoint them a touchdown. So if the defense tries too hard to stop it then they get penalized. I don’t like it. Do a traditional QB sneak like Brady used to do.
The defense was not trying too hard. They were jumping offsides three times in a row. Typically a five yard penalty but on the goal line, the ball can’t move forward any further. So what’s the penalty for the defense to stop them from doing it? Award the touchdown. You shouldn’t be able to get a penalty three times in a row without having a true penalty being enforced on you
Exactly. Ban the play instead of dealing with that one moron that kept jumping way offsides.
He was trying to time the snap so he could get to hurts before he got the yard. I say ban the play and not have to worry about that (or injuries)
Players do the same exact thing on field goal attempts. So that means we ban field goal attempts?
If the refs are threatening to just give them the conversion? Might as well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I can’t understand why teams don’t figure out better ways to defend it.
Hire a rugby coach to teach better scrum technique, add some 400 lb players to the practice squad for the Philly game, do a reverse tush push with your middle linebacker, etc.
So what you’re saying is that the defense should also line up a secondhand maybe a third line of players who “push” their defensive players forward to try and stop the play…..don’t think you would have enough blue tents to tend to players hurt because of that……
This is American football, NOT rugby. Wasn’t there once a rule where runners couldn’t be helped in the past? Aside from blocking, completely BAN helping, carrying, or pushing, etc. a runner.
If you watched rugby, you’d note the play has nothing to do with that sport.
It would have been ban 2nd year if Lamar Jackson did it. 😂
Lamar Jackson is too small to do it.
Too small for mvp I guess too. Guy should have a cupboard full of them.
Well, he’s won two. That’s pretty good.
100% good. But he shows up every year and has been the players association player of the year (the people who actually know) for atleast 5.
LMAO Packers are such a soft organization.
Fake a catastrophic back injury every time it is run. By the time the third ambulance has driven away the league will have it banned.
Tush push is more rugby scrum than football
And punting resembles soccer so let’s ban that too…
If you allow offensive pushing then the defense should be able to do it also.
Roger Goodell: “The integrity of the game demands we ban the “tush push”. There’s no room on IR lists for players with butt injuries. We need to focus on exporting the NFL to foreign markets and flag football is the future anyway”.
“While no injury data has really shown any direct harm from the play, NFL health and safety officials have repeatedly expressed injury-related concerns about it. ”
Using this logic, every play in football would need to be banned. A receiver can twist an ankle by leaping for a pass and coming down wrong. Should they pass a rule that says receivers can no longer leave their feet?
Hey, you don’t even have to consider the players (who at least have protective equipment). Look along the sidelines of any game and you see a hundred or more spectators. All those people can’t be team employees. Those people are sitting ducks if a player runs out of bounds and hits them at full speed.
I would suggest they look at qbs taking late or faking slides as there have been more actual injuries on both sides of the ball due to this than the tush push. This should be banned before the tush push which i cant recall any injuries related to the tush push.
I really can’t imagine any HC addressing the media during training camp and saying “We intend to make the fake slide our primary offensive weapon in this year’s playbook”…lol.
Tank Dell was slot for the season in 2023 from this play.
Now – why on earth Tank Dell is pushing anyone is beyond me. That’s just silly
Lost *
The obvious stance that Green Bay is taking here against the “TUSH PUSH” has absolutely nothing to do with an “injury possibility” when teams choose to run this play & everything to do with the Packers (and other unidentified NFL organizations as of yet) organization lacking the upfront manpower, followed by the certain, specific & timely contributions from your quarterback, backs, tight ends & receivers working in unison to perfect the play itself. If Green Bay (and the other NFL organizations who are looking to completely ban the “TUSH PUSH” due to their claim of the greater the “injury possibility” that it presents) chooses to use this bogus claim as to why this play should be eliminated as a legal NFL Play, then as a proponent of the “TUSH PUSH” I would simply then wanna suggest a totally logical counter position/proposal to Green Bay’s only singular claim for totally banning the existence of play itself which again, according to that organization along with the handful of, as of now, the other unidentifiable NFL Organizations who like the Green Bay Organization claim the greater possibility of an injury will occur with the use of this play during any NFL sanctioned game. The counter would be to have Green Bay & the other identified NFL Organizations that are proposing to ban the “TUSH PUSH” (which just to note, as it stands currently, the “TUSH PUSH” has stood as a legal NFL play since 2006 & till recently the play has never been proposed for absolute, unequivocal removal from the NFL Game. It’s also worthy to note the strange, yet timely opposition to this play by Green Bay subsequently after the their recent ouster from the 1st rd of the 2024 – 2025 NFL Playoffs by none other than NFL Organization which since the 2023 – 2024 NFL Season to present season is the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL Team which has the highest success rate in the NFL, a percentage of well over 90% when using the play itself. Note – Philadelphia’s well over 90% success rate is substantially greater than the next NFL Team with the next highest percentage. Have all opponents to the “TUSH PUSH” present documented, believable & viable evidence that supports their sole claim that the use of this NFL Play,(again please note once more, a legal NFL Play since 2006 & also note the play as it stands presently hasn’t been challenged,nor approached, nor inquired about since) unquestionably produces greater possibility of a significant injury because of its usage. In my opinion as a longtime loyal NFL Fan, this counter proposal to Green Bay’s would only in the end would ultimately provide a definitive answer one way or another with whether the NFL is to keep or will ultimately remove the play from NFL Play. Sounds fair to me!@