REPORT: One NFL Team Has Proposed to Ban the ‘Tush Push’

Have we seen the last of the “Tush Push?” If one NFL team has their way, we definitely have.

According to a report from NFL Media, NFL Vice President of Operations Troy Vincent said that one NFL team has proposed to ban the “Tush Push.”

“There is a proposal from an unnamed team to ban the Tush Push, Troy Vincent said,” NFL.com’s Judy Battista wrote on X. “We’ll see where it goes.”

The Philadelphia Eagles began using the play to great effect in 2022, setting records for fourth-down conversions and extending drives that hitherto would have ended in punts. Essentially, the play is a quarterback sneak with a running back and tight end lined up behind the QB to push him forward. With Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley able to squat over 1,300 lbs combined, the play almost always gained the necessary yard or two to receive a fresh set of downs.

However, not everyone in the league supports the play or even believes it should be a part of the game.

“It’s not a football play,” Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher said on The Dan Patrick Show earlier this month. “It’s rugby. They call it a scrum. I mean, that’s what it is, Dan. Let’s call it the way that it is. I mean, you’re pushing people and pushing them over. If it’s just a quarterback sneak, I get it, but it becomes like a push in the back, and it’s a scrum. It’s not a strategical play, in my opinion.”

Cowher continued, “I think there’s a safety element to this. I would have to think because when you have 600 pounds pushing on one person who’s trying to stay in there at 300 pounds. That just seems like it’s a safety issue.”

It’s unclear how many injuries have been caused by the “Tush Push,” though the mass of humanity surging forward against a single defender, even a large one, certainly carries that potential.

Cowher isn’t alone in his criticism of the play.

“There is no skill involved, and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Packers CEO Mark Murphy wrote on the team’s website. “I would like to see the league prohibit pushing or aiding the runner (QB) on this play. There used to be a rule prohibiting this, but it is no longer enforced because I believe it was thought to be too hard for the officials to see. The play is bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of the runner. This would bring back the traditional QB sneak. That worked pretty well for Bart Starr and the Packers in the Ice Bowl.”

Are the Packers the team that requested the removal of the “Tusj Push?” There’s no way to know, as Vincent didn’t say who it was, and based on that, we can conclude the team wants to remain anonymous. The Packers did begin and end their season with losses to the Eagles. So, that, and Murphy’s strong feelings on the subject, would definitely vault the Pack to the top of the list of suspects.

The Packers would likely need at least one other team to join them in petitioning for the outlawing of the play so that the league can agree to end it, though. The complaints of one team with an axe to grind seem unlikely to result in change. Nonetheless, the first move has been made? Now, we wait to see who else will join…