The Philadelphia Eagles‘ signature “tush push” play has sparked controversy on a weekly basis throughout the 2025 season, as more and more critics continuously call for the play to be banned. However, ahead of his Week 11 matchup with the Eagles, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave his reasoning as to why he believes the play should remain legal.
The Week 10 matchup between the Eagles and the Green Bay Packers presented yet another reason for critics of the tush push to point to as justification for the play to be banned.
Both offensive guards for the Eagles appeared to jump early on several tush push attempts in Monday’s game. No flag was thrown on any of their attempts, which has been a recurring trend this season.
Despite all of the evidence that has emerged that shows that officials are simply unable to correctly officiate the play, Campbell remains in favor of the tush push remaining legal.
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Discussing the controversial play on Wednesday, Campbell explained that he is a football “purist”. As such, Campbell believes that a ban on the tush push could create a slippery slope that results in other core elements of the game being banned in the future.
“I’m a purist man,” said Campbell. “If you take something out of the game, then you are taking the next thing out of the game. And then you are taking another thing. Pretty soon, we don’t have pads anymore. Pretty soon, you are only playing 30 minutes. I don’t want to take it out of the game. A team has got a niche. They have found something; they are good at it. That’s for everybody else to stop. It’s unique, it’s physical. More than anything, I just don’t want to take anything else out of the game. I just want to leave the game alone.”
On one hand, Campbell raises a good point. Changing the game with a tush push ban this way could lead to further adjustments that negatively affect the tradition of the game.
That being said, Philadelphia sure seems to be getting away with a number of missed false start calls that make it incredibly difficult for defenses to be competing on an even playing ground when trying to stop the tush push.
Maybe Campbell’s opinion of the play will change once he goes up against it once again on Sunday night. Either way, Campbell and Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard will put together their best game plan possible to stop the dominant play and bring a halt to the Eagles’ three-game winning streak.
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