Early Monday morning at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was a very popular interview among the media there to cover the 2025 NFL Annual Meeting. As the man in charge of a successful team that boasts the current NFL MVP in quarterback Josh Allen, attention is to be expected.
The other reason McDermott had so many microphones in his face had to do with a report on Sunday claiming his involvement in an “animated conversation” with Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and assistant general manager Jon Ferrari, plus Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. The inference from Warren Sharp was that things got tense in talking about the “Tush Push” between the four men.
McDermott and McVay are two of four NFL head coaches currently chairing the NFL Competition Committee, and they’ve been tasked with deliberating about the infamous short-yardage play this offseason.
In his role with the Bills, McDermott has on occasion turned to quarterback Josh Allen to execute their own version of the play, lovingly called “The Shnow Plow” among Bills Mafia. In fact, many sources claim that Buffalo ran the play in question second-most in the league, behind the Eagles.
When asked to follow up regarding what some observed over the weekend in Palm Beach, McDermott had the following to say about the play:
“Similar to how I felt at the combine... I dove deeper into more of the data on it and, you know, just thought more about it as well, and my position hasn’t really changed at all. I feel where I’m most concerned is even though there’s not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is the health and safety of the players, first and foremost.”
When asked to speak about what he’s seen to lead him to this conclusion, McDermott offered:
“It’s two things. It’s force — added force, number one. And then the posture of the players being asked to execute that type of play. That’s where my concern comes in.”
A reporter then asked McDermott if he’ll continue to run the play, should it remain in the game, understanding that he’s leveraged it in the past:
“A form of it [McDermott stated, implying theirs is different than the Eagles’]. Right? A form of it. So I think that’s a loose term, really, in terms of what defines a “Tush Push.” You know, there’s different forms of it out there. I know we are one of the teams that people identify that run it. That’s fair. There’s other teams as well. So I just — look, we always going to act in a way that’s best for the health and safety of the players, and I think that’s the responsible way to go.”
To this point, internal data from the NFL has provided no conclusive evidence that the short-yardage play — which resembles a rugby play — is dangerous to players. There’s currently a 0% documented injury rate, though millions of people saw Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones attended to following a snap featuring it during Super Bowl LIX.
So why would McDermott support moves to ban the play from the gridiron? He watched first hand as Buffalo converted 80% of rush attempts for one yard or less in 2024 (ahead of the 2024 AFC Championship game). Early on in his press conference, McDermott was asked why he was opposed when the data just doesn’t back it up:
“Well, number one, I’m not a doctor so I’m not going to get too deep into that situation there in terms of how much data, how much sample. I don’t think that’s really always the best way to go. I think — when you’re looking at — there’s other data out there that suggests when you’re in a posture like we’re talking about, that that can lead to serious injury. And I think being responsible and proactive in that regard is the right way to go.”
Sal Capaccio then asked McDermott to discuss his stance from the viewpoint of a competition committee member, rather than a head coach of a team that runs the play and does it well. McDermott said:
“That’s what I’m tasked to do as a committee member, is to do what’s best for the overall game and growing the game the right way. Yes we do a form of this play and we do it well. I believe, us and Philadelphia, who both run a form of this play and do it well, I believe both teams can be just as good in a traditional form of a quarterback sneak, and they’ve shown that over the years. Philadelphia and us. Both teams have shown that. That’s also partly why I believe what I believe.”
For as much as McDermott’s stance my trend confusing, it’s important to remember that the NFL does utilize the expertise of medical professionals. That’s something Jonathan Jones, lead NFL insider for NFL on CBS, pointed to in tweeting “it seems clear that medical professionals have stressed the risk of injury on the play.”
NFL: JAN 26 AFC Championship - Bills at Chiefs Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
For the play to remain in the NFL, nine of 32 NFL owners will need to vote against its removal.
As this relates further to the Bills: How often have McDermott teams actually run the play, and what’s different about Buffalo’s variant? Be sure to check out Buffalo Rumblings’ deep analytical dive into those very questions.
Catch up with everything Sean McDermott had to say from his press conference at the 2025 Annual NFL Meeting via the embedded video below.