The Philadelphia Eagles have caused quite a controversy since introducing the tush push play in the 2022 season. After winning the Super Bowl last season, the NFL is looking into potentially banning the tush push altogether.
Several coaches and players around the league have questioned why the play would even be banned. On Wednesday, reports indicate that an unnamed general manager in the NFL criticized the teams who want to ban the tush push, according to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports. The unnamed general manager didn’t name any teams specifically, but he is clearly supportive of the Eagles continuing to use the play.
“The tush-push continues to be a major topic of debate among league circles. A current NFL GM told me: ‘I think it’s pretty soft to ban a play just because you can’t stop it. I’ll leave the names out of it, but I think you know who I’m talking about.’”
The Green Bay Packers were the team that proposed the tush push ban this offseason. Teams around the league will put the proposal to a vote. However, the NFL has postponed the voting for now to investigate the concerns around the Eagles’ play.
Teams who oppose the tush push allegedly showcased strong arguments as to why the play should be removed. Additionally, some teams, like the Buffalo Bills, express player safety concerns that the play is dangerous.
The NFL and medical experts are likely conducting more research to figure out if that is true or not. So, the tush-push controversy is bound to continue throughout the entire offseason.
Philadelphia has essentially perfected the play over the past few seasons. Since introducing the play in the 2022 season, the Eagles have utilized the tush push substantially more than any other team in the league. They also have an incredibly high conversion rate of 91.3% out of 92 attempts. The Dallas Cowboys (92% out of 25 attempts) and the Detroit Lions (100% out of seven attempts) are the only teams with a higher conversion rate.
Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni defended the controversial play at the NFL Combine. He claimed that he felt “insulted” and suggested that Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals head coach), Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts head coach), and Kellen Moore (Orleans Saints head coach) should vote to keep the tush push as it helped them land head coaching positions.