Why the Tush Push, or Brotherly Shove, still belongs in the NFL

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Jalen Hurts doesn’t call it the Tush Push.

No, he likes to keep it standard: The quarterback sneak. But the only thing standard about the play that involves Hurts getting shoved by a teammate or two in the physical region that defies verbal grace is the consistency with which the Philadelphia Eagles pick up first downs, score touchdowns and confound those who haven’t yet found a way to stop it.

That standard of success is why the NFL’s owners were two votes away from banning the Tush Push on Wednesday. It’s why the Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal that prohibits an offensive player from “pushing, pulling, lifting, or assisting the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him.” It’s why a contingent of NFL teams who appreciated the Packers taking the bullet approved of the proposal for its two cited reasons — “player safety” and “pace of play” — although the league found no evidence that the first was jeopardized and has plenty of other unresolved issues with the second.

It’s why Eagles coach Nick Sirianni lashed out at the proposal during the scouting combine, insulted by the premise that they’d perfected a play only because of its structure. “We’ve worked so hard at that play,” he argued. Since 2022, they’ve devoted hours of practice time to gaining a single yard. They once brought in former Scottish rugby player Richie Gray to help train them on techniques. They marched out to the initial amusement of the league and its viewership and proceeded to push over defenses for three seasons, despite three offensive coordinator changes, a transition at center and a rotating cast of right guards.

It’s why Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie defended the Tush Push for over half an hour, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Lurie, accompanied by former Eagles center Jason Kelce, refuted the proposed rule change by emphasizing the safety of the play. “Whoever votes to ban this play is taking liability for putting risk on our quarterbacks,” Lurie said.

Kelce spoke on similar points. Once the fulcrum for what the Eagles fanbase calls the Brotherly Shove, Kelce has spoken about how grueling it was on his body. Still, Kelce has defended the play because of its congruence with the physical nature of football, of someone’s will against another’s for the smallest margins of soil. A rugby play? It belongs in football. It’s why, back in March’s league meetings, Lurie rejected the aesthetic critique voiced by coaches like Green Bay’s Matt LeFleur that the Tush Push wasn’t a “football play.” Lurie recalled reading about how the forward pass was once controversial in the sport’s early days.

“I’ve never judged whether a play looks okay,” Lurie said then. “Does a screen pass look better than an in-route or an out-route? I don’t know. To me, it’s not a very relevant critique that it doesn’t look right or something like that. I don’t know what looks right. Scoring; we like to win and score.”

The Eagles have done plenty of both with the Tush Push in their playbook, a three-year run that kickstarted the franchise’s golden era. They ran their quarterback 122 times in 1-yard-to-go situations since 2022, according to TruMedia. They scored 30 touchdowns and gained 105 first downs on those plays. Acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson rendered it virtually unstoppable. They used it to score first in both Super Bowl LVII and LIX. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones tried to stop the latter by lining up sideways. Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu tried leaping over the line during January’s NFC title game but was penalized three straight times for encroachment.

“I think they should ban it,” Luvu said Monday on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “I know the argument is going to be like, ‘Hey, you guys have to stop it. Don’t get us in short yardage and whatnot.’ I mean, it’s kind of like a cheapo play.”

The Eagles argued that a point like Luvu’s is subjective and irrelevant. Other teams fielded their own versions. It’s why Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott was a surprise supporter of the ban; Josh Allen’s 74 rushes in 1-yard-to-go situations were the second-most since 2022, and the Bills often deployed a fullback to push Allen, who tied Hurts in 2023 for the NFL’s quarterback record for single-season rushing touchdowns (15). It’s why McDermott’s opposition intimated hypocrisy and why his play calls after Wednesday’s ruling will undergo scrutiny. He was asked during league meetings in March if he’d still run such plays if the Tush Push wasn’t banned.

“A form of it, right? A form of it,” McDermott said then. “It’s a loose term, really, of what defines a Tush Push. So, there’s different forms of it out there. I know we’re one of the teams that people identify that run it. That’s fair. There’s other teams as well. We’re always going to act in a way that’s best for the health and safety of the players, and I think that’s the responsible way to go.”

Atlanta Falcons CEO Rich McKay, the chair of the NFL’s competition committee, expanded on that sense of responsibility by saying in March that some decision-makers were concerned about what will happen — not what has happened. Still, McKay said, “there’s not enough data, enough proof” to suggest the Tush Push jeopardized player safety. The bulk of any tangible argument lay in whether the play belonged in football. Up until 2004, the NFL had a rule that prohibited such pushing and pulling, but McKay said the league removed the rule because referees were having difficulty officiating what was happening downfield.

It’s noteworthy that it took almost two decades for a controversial play like the Tush Push to emerge from the void that rule removal created. It’s indicative of a coaching staff recognizing the specific skills of its roster. Teams who don’t have a physical freak at quarterback like Allen (6-5, 237) or Hurts (squats 600 pounds), or can’t leverage a Pro Bowl-studded offensive line like Philadelphia’s rarely attempt such quarterback sneaks. It’s relevant that Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator when they debuted their Tush Push, has only rushed his quarterback eight times in 1-yard-to-go situations in two seasons, according to TruMedia.

The Eagles will undoubtedly use the Brotherly Shove again during the 2025 season. Had the NFL’s owners banned the play, it’s quite possible the Eagles would’ve still found a way to use the strength of their roster to be efficient in short-yardage situations. Perhaps a new proposal will be written in 2026 that will secure the two votes this year’s lacked. Even then, the Eagles may have an easy solution. Left tackle Jordan Mailata shrugged on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a ban:

“I guess we just do it with no push then.”

(Photo: Stephen Lew / Imagn Images)

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