Welcome to the latest edition of “Two Things Can Be True At The Same Time” starring Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott.
The topic is the quarterback-assisted sneak (tush push), which survived at least one more NFL season after commissioner Roger Goodell couldn’t find 24 teams to vote for banning it; he got 22.
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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was 27 of 32 last year when using the tush push and needing to gain a yard. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
McDermott has been a vocal opponent of the play, citing player safety concerns even though there is no available data.
So, Sean, you don’t like the play but since it is still allowed, will you permit offensive coordinator Joe Brady to continue calling it for Josh Allen?
“Now that the rules are set, we always do our best to play within the rules,” McDermott said to my question Tuesday before the Bills’ opening organized team activity workout.
Simultaneous Truth No. 1: McDermott’s succinct comment confirmed how much he hates the tush push. I think it’s the old defensive coach in him trying to stand up for his side of the football – that’s the only way I can rationalize his stance.
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Simultaneous Truth No. 2: Heck, yeah, the Bills are going to use the short-yardage play, in which a teammate shoves Allen forward. The offensive line is too good at blocking it and Allen is too good at probing the correct gap to abandon it.
Tush push play survives vote at NFL league meetings
The tush push has survived for now. On Wednesday, NFL owners voted at the Minnesota league meetings on a proposal by the Green Bay Packers that would effectively ban the tush push or any way of an offensive player assisting the ball carrier outside of blocking for him.
“Oh, yeah,” left guard David Edwards said when asked if he likes the tush push. “We like it because of how good Josh is at it. I don’t know what the percentage was last year …”
I interjected – the Bills were 27 of 32 (84.4%) last year when using the tush push and needing 1 yard to go (including first-and-goal from the 1).
“That’s pretty good,” Edwards said. “As long as Josh is good with running it, we’re good with running it.”
Allen has been good at it from the hop and let’s face it, it appears to be a safer play than running quarterback power around the edge.
Burrowing into Pro Football Reference, the NFL Now video fault and my Bills notebooks (yes, I still write down every play) revealed/confirmed just how much it has helped the offense.
2022: 10 of 10 (100%).
2023: 23 of 27 (85.2%).
2024: The aforementioned 27 of 32.
Total: 60 of 69 (86.9%).
See why the Bills players like using it?
In Allen’s first five seasons, he averaged 16.1 rushes when needing 1 yard for the touchdown (first down) or cross the first-down marker.
In the last two seasons, he has averaged 35.5 rushes in those situations. He’s a quarterback disguised as a military tank so it makes perfect sense to run it.
Three years ago, the Bills starting use it around midseason and almost exclusively on third-and-1 (seven of the 10 times). The first-ever Bills Tush Pusher was receiver Gabe Davis, who would motion into the backfield and provide the needed push. Fullback Reggie Gilliam also was used as a pusher.
“(That play) is great for me,” Gilliam said because it gets him on the field.
The Bills used it in the 2023 opener – Gilliam pushing Allen for a successful gain in the season-opening loss at the New York Jets. Running back Latavius Murray was the pusher late in the season.
It was a regular part of the plan last year, using it at least once in 15 of Allen’s 19 games.
James Cook was the pusher 11 times, running back Ty Johnson 10 times, Gilliam five times, running back Ray Davis three times and tight end Zach Davidson once. The Bills were 2 of 3 on first-and-goal from the 1, 5 of 6 on second-and-1, 11 of 14 on third-and-1 and 9 of 9 on fourth-and-1.
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The Buffalo Bills may not have wanted to do this, but now the key is embracing it and not fighting it. This is free advertising for the Bills’ brand and their players.
(About Cook, I give Jimbo full marks for being one of the league’s best running backs, but I hope he’s not making his tush-pushing prowess a part of his contract demands. Simply put, he’s not very good at it.)
Allen has improved his technique on the sneak play. In 2022, he was so eager to get going, the pusher often didn’t play a big role.
“We figured it out – find the gap and then hit it instead of just going,” Gilliam said.
Where I can’t get is the play being a major injury hazard.
“It is a lot of bodies on a lot of bodies in a short area, but what’s the difference from another high-impact, short-yardage play?” Edwards said.
That’s my thing, too. A short-yardage rush by a back would likely feature the same kind of blocking by the linemen.
Gilliam said he has dislocated “a few” fingers when tush pushing, but obviously endorses using the play. The only reason I think Goodell wanted it banned was because it’s boring.
The NFL is a league of razor-thin margins in which hours are spent trying to create a competitive advantage. The Bills, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, benefit from the tush push. Even though McDermott is against the play, he would be foolish to abandon it … and clearly won’t.
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