Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen
Getty
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen
The Jacksonville Jaguars were in the minority on a key offseason proposed NFL rule change this week. A vote was held at the NFL’s Spring League Meeting on the controversial “Tush Push,” which is essentially a quarterback sneak on steroids, where one or two fellow offensive players shove the quarterback forward and assist him in getting short yardage.
The vote to ban the Tush Push was 22-10, but 24 votes were needed to pass the proposed rule change. The Jags were in favor of keeping the play in the NFL along with nine other teams. The full list per Adam Schefter:
–Philadelphia Eagles (shocker!)
–Baltimore Ravens
–Cleveland Browns
–Detroit Lions
-Jacksonville Jaguars
–Miami Dolphins
–New England Patriots
–New Orleans Saints
–New York Jets
–Tennessee Titans
It’s not all that difficult to figure out why some teams were fine keeping it while others wanted it gone for good. First and foremost, the Eagles obviously wanted to keep it because they are the sole reason that this rule alteration was proposed in the first place.
The Eagles have an 86% conversion rate on the Tush Push compared with 76% for the rest of the NFL. Keep in mind that stat is a bit misleading because the Eagles are so good at it, they do it all the time. If it’s 2nd down and a long two yards, the Eagles will run it knowing if they don’t get it, they’ll do it two more times until they get the first down or the touchdown. So, they’re going for it on downs that they know they might not get it, which counts as a failed conversion. So, stats aside, it’s well known that the Eagles do it far better than anyone else.
Seven of the 10 teams that were fine keeping it? They are AFC teams that play the Eagles once every four years, so they aren’t bludgeoned by it repeatedly the same way an NFC East division rival would be, or a team the Eagles play quite a bit like the Green Bay Packers, who proposed the rule change.
Why did the Jaguars vote to keep it?
The common refrain from people who want to keep the “Tush Push” is “if you don’t like it, stop it!” Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said as much earlier this month.
“If you don’t like it, get better at stopping it,” Barkley told ESPN. “It’s not like a play that we only do. Everyone tries it, we’re just super successful at it.”
Enter the Jaguars. Jacksonville went to Lincoln Financial Field in 2024 and played the Eagles tough in a 28-23 loss. What makes that game memorable? They stopped the Tush Push twice on potential two-point conversions. That’s two more times than many teams who played the Eagles.
How did they do it? Former Jaguars linebacker Jeff Lageman breaks it down:
Teams that see the Eagles on their 2025 NFL schedule might be wise to give the Jags a call and ask them just how in the heck they did it.
When someone does something really well, people want to ban it
It’s a bit of a false narrative that teams wanted to ban the Tush Push because they couldn’t stop it. The opposite is most likely true: Teams wanted to eradicate it because they themselves can’t do it.
The Buffalo Bills have a big, athletic quarterback in Josh Allen, tried the play four times against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and went 0-4. The Eagles ran it successfully a few times two weeks later in the Super Bowl against the same exact team. Any wonder why the Bills wanted to get rid of it?
If the Tush Push had been banned, it might have become “The Eagles Rule.” This is much in the way the ban on horse-collar tackles was known as “The Roy Williams Rule.” Williams perfected it, but it was causing too many injuries so they got rid of it. See: Terrell Owens.
Back in the 1970s, Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Hall of Famer Mel Blount used to beat the snot out of wide receivers up and down the field on pass routes. So, the NFL had to institute the five-yard chuck rule, which was initially called “The Mel Blount Rule.”
So, the Jaguars were of course in favor of keeping the Tush Push play because A. they were able to stop it, and B. they only see the Eagles once every four years. But, it could also be because the new coaching staff in Jacksonville plans to implement their own version into their 2025 playbook. They – and every NFL team – would be wise to do so because every first down immediately becomes 1st and nine, not 1st and 10.