Tush Push Ban Vote Reportedly Tabled After 50-50 Split at NFL League Meetings

Breathe easy, Philadelphia Eagles fans. The tush push isn't going anywhere, at least for now.

According to multiple reports, NFL owners voted Tuesday to table the vote to ban the Eagles' largely perfected version of the quarterback sneak, which features players shoving the signal-caller from behind to generate more momentum.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported 16 teams opposed the rule change, but he noted "many" of them were in favor of the competition committee continuing to study the play. The Green Bay Packers were the ones who officially proposed to ban the play.

ESPN's Kalyn Kahler noted Sunday that it was the first time a team submitted such a rule proposal, even though the competition committee reviewed the play in each of the last three offseasons. Kahler added that the proposal to ban it had garnered "support within the competition committee," with another source suggesting it would be "hotly contested."

The official proposal was 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."

Green Bay's two listed concerns were player safety and pace of play, although Kahler reported no injury data supported the reasoning. Instead, the concern about injuries was largely hypothetical.

One club executive said, "It's not backed by data. It was all subjective."

That echoes what Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters in February when he said such health concerns are "a little made up. … I can't remember one injury we had on that play, and we ran it more than anybody else."

Sirianni and others with the Eagles surely felt the proposal was targeted at their team, especially since they just won the Super Bowl. They consistently used it with Saquon Barkley and others shoving Jalen Hurts forward behind a strong offensive line, and opposing defenses rarely stopped it.

The Washington Commanders' efforts to stop it in the NFC Championship Game ended with the officials warning them that Philadelphia could be awarded a touchdown if they didn't stop repeatedly jumping offside.

For as excellent as the Eagles are at running the play, others around the league have not been able to replicate it.

Kahler noted the Eagles and Buffalo Bills were the only two teams to run it more than five times during the 2024 campaign. The tush push accounted for only 0.28 percent of all plays during the season.

It seems somewhat drastic to make an entire rule change based on a play that is used so sparingly and by so few teams. NFL owners appear to agree based on Tuesday's decision.