The Dallas Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in nearly three decades, but it's still an oddity when they aren't at the forefront of NFL discourse.
Owner Jerry Jones found a way to keep his franchise, long nicknamed "America's team" in the spotlight this week -- despite the fact that it's the middle of football's offseason and the conference finals in both the NBA and NHL are underway.
NFL team owners gathered for the league's spring meeting in Minnesota on Wednesday, May 21. And while several topics were discussed, the headliner was a vote on the so-called "tush push."
The play in question is one championed by the Philadelphia Eagles, a longtime NFC East rival of the Cowboys and the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Saquon Barkley Jerry Jones
Running back Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
By Tony Fisher
The Eagles, and a couple other teams, employ the play during short-yardage situations. More or less, it is a quarterback sneak buoyed by an extra shove from a couple of players lined up behind the signal-caller in the offensive backfield.
Philadelphia's success rate with the play is incredibly high, and it has clearly developed into an advantage for the Eagles because they run it so well. The league office, as well as several of its member teams, have promoted the notion that the tush push is dangerous and therefore must be banned, though the collective evidence used to back up that claim is paltry -- at best.
The NFL tabled a vote on the issue earlier this offseason, which led to reports that the powers that be wanted the play banned but needed to gather more support. Making a rule against it requires a 75% consensus vote from the 32 teams (24 franchises). A total of 22 teams voted to ban the play Wednesday, leaving the measure two votes shy.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during the tush push play.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs the tush push play.
Eric Hartline
It was the Green Bay Packers that initially brought the proposal forward, though Jones' Cowboys were among the 22 outfits that voted in favor of the ban. Jones spoke about the vote Thursday, offering insight into what he thinks of the tush push and why he voted as he did.
"The world champion is the main focus of the tush push, and here we are debating it and having to decide. I thought, 'Am I really against the tush push, or just don’t want Philadelphia to have an edge?'" Jones said, per Pro Football Talk. "I don't know. I flip flop."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Browns, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Patriots, Ravens, Saints and Titans joined the Eagles in voting against banning the play.