Throughout the last few NFL seasons, the Philadelphia Eagles' "Tush Push" play, used in short yardage situations, where a couple of Eagles line up behind quarterback Jalen Hurts and help shove him forward, as a the ball carrier, to convert a first down or a touchdown, has been virtually unstoppable. Well, it was once again unstoppable in an NFL conference room on Wednesday morning, as the effort to ban the play fell short by two votes.
The effort to ban the play, which the Eagles converted successfully a league-leading 87 percent of the time last season, was spearheaded by the Green Bay Packers. Originally proposed at the March owners' meetings, the proposal was tabled until May, as the league asked the Packers to revise certain elements.
At that time, reportedly 16 of the 32 NFL teams backed a ban of the play. In order to implement any rule changes, 24 of 32 teams must be in favor of the change. The vote on Wednesday was by a margin of 22-10 in favor of the ban, thus falling two votes short of approval. According to ESPN.com, here are the teams that opposed the ban of the "Tush Push":
Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
New Orleans Saints
Tennessee Titans
The Eagles passionately defended the play remaining legal, as their owner Jeffrey Lurie presented to the league for 30 minutes as to why the "Tush Push" should remain legal. Additionally, former Eagle and current ESPN broadcaster Jason Kelce presented a similar message. Obviously, whatever they did worked well enough, and the Eagles were feeling themselves on social media after the vote:
Now on YouTube 😂🦅 pic.twitter.com/JSvOZPY8HA
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) May 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/bQh1wDWhTN
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 21, 2025
If you want to circle a date on the NFL calendar, circle Monday Night Football in Week 10, as the Eagles will play the very team that tried to shut down the "Tush Push," the Green Bay Packers. May the Eagles run that play 20 times in that game just for the hell of it.
In addition to the verdict on the "Tush Push," three other initiatives were resolved at these meetings in Minneapolis. First, the league approved the future participation of NFL players in the flag football event in the 2028 Olympics. Second, the league approved teams being able to onside kick at any point in the game, as long as they are trailing. Previously, teams could only onside kick in the fourth quarter. Finally, the Lions withdrew their proposal to have playoff seeding done by record, whereby division winners would no longer be guaranteed a home playoff game.
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