‘Tush Push’ update: Packers submit revised proposal to ban controversial play ahead of NFL’s spring meeting

The Green Bay Packers have submitted a revised proposal to ban the “Tush Push,” the controversial play that played an integral role in the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 2024 Super Bowl run. The NFL’s owners are expected to vote on the play’s future during Wednesday’s league meeting in Minneapolis. 

Green Bay’s revised iteration of the proposed ban is broader and is similar to the NFL’s language from 1920 through the 2005 season, which prohibited players from pushing or pulling the runner in any direction. Given the language that’s included in this revised proposal, it would be virtually impossible for the “Tush Push” to live on if the proposal gets the necessary 24 votes from league owners to put it into effect. 

Yes, the Eagles and other teams could likely find a creative way to mimic the “Tush Push” if this proposal passes, but whatever they come up with would likely end up looking more like a traditional quarterback sneak. The ability to push the quarterback (or whoever is the play’s primary ballcarrier) is one of the main things that has made the play virtually unstoppable over the past few seasons. 

Commanders LB calls ‘Tush Push’ a ‘cheapo play,’ wants it banned after failing to stop it in NFC Championship

Shanna McCarriston

Really, the Eagles’ success running the play is more than likely the main reason why the Packers and 15 other NFL teams (16 owners reportedly voted in favor of banning the play during April’s league meetings) want to see it banned. While several teams have cited safety concerns as a primary reason for wanting it banned, the NFL has stated that they have found no evidence suggesting that the play puts players at additional risk of suffering an injury. 

The Packers, who lost to the Eagles in the NFC wild-card round this past January, were the team that issued the initial proposal to have the “Tush Push” banned. Green Bay hasn’t been shy about its dislike of the play, with team president and CEO Mark Murphy publicly criticizing it prior to Philadelphia’s decisive Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs. 

“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Murphy wrote on the Packers 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.”

After tabling the play’s fate in April, there is reportedly strong support to ban the “Tush Push” among NFL owners. If the play is banned, rest assured that it won’t sit well with the Eagles, especially running back Saquon Barkley, who recently shared a pointed message for the play’s detractors. 

“If you don’t like it, get better at stopping it,” Barkley said earlier this month. “It’s not like a play that we only do. Everyone tries it, we’re just super successful at it.”