Uproar over the Tush Push materialized again just weeks into the 2025 NFL season, but that doesn’t mean the path to banning it — or even securing another vote — got any easier.
There are “no assurances” that another Tush Push vote will exist for a second consecutive offseason, according to ESPN — meaning that teams such as the Eagles, who have thrived using the play with a reported 96.6 percent success rate on their 116 attempts since 2022, might not need to adjust after all.
ESPN cited an anonymous source claiming the issue should be placed on the back burner for a year, given “the hotly contested conversation the play raised last offseason and the emotions it aroused,” the outlet wrote.
The Athletic, though, reported Saturday that some in attendance at NFL meetings “came away convinced the ban could finally happen this offseason.”
“It’s getting very sloppy and officials can’t officiate it,” one anonymous coach told the outlet. “They have to make sure no one is in the neutral zone and that no one moves before the ball. There are just a lot of missed calls on the play.”
Former Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy spearheaded the vote and proposal against the Tush Push last offseason that nearly passed. Given his retirement earlier this year, someone else, logistically, would need to lead a future quest.
The Tush Push — when a quarterback is under center and gets a shove, or multiple shoves, from behind in a short-yardage situation — prevailed during an NFL owners’ vote in May, as support for banning it received just 22 votes and fell short of the required 24.
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During their victory over the Chiefs in Week 2, the Eagles used the Tush Push six times and committed a false start on one occasion, according to ESPN.
That led to the league instructing referees to call the play “tight” this week — though Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata told reporters it’s being used “as an excuse to why we won” their Super Bowl 2025 rematch.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce wasn’t optimistic about the future of the play — despite the complicated path to banning it — during a radio interview this week, though.
“I think the play is done,” Kelce, who retired after a 13-year career with the Eagles following the 2023 season, said on Philadelphia’s 94 WIP. “I think that the play was going to be done last year. I think that there’s a lot of people within the league at multiple levels that want the play to be gone. Which is fine. I think we’ll still go back to running quarterback sneak and I’m sure they’ll figure out ways to be successful. I’m not really that concerned with it, to be very candid.”
The Eagles host the Rams on Sunday as they look to secure a 3-0 start.
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