Tush Push Survives
May 21st, 2025
Let football be football!
Finally, common sense has been used by the NFL. Normally, the NFL year after year adds to its overly litigious rulebook. But enough NFL owners decided at today’ spring league meeting that it’s finally time to push back on NFL strongman Roger Goodell’s latest attempt to turn the NFL into flag football.
The famous Philly Tush Push, which is a rugby-like play used by the Eagles in short-yardage, was on death row. Goodell didn’t like it.
Usually, Goodell gets what he wants (or doesn’t want).
The Bucs are one of the few teams that have had success against the Tush Push — it helps to have Vita Vea anchored in the middle of the defensive line.
(Head coach Todd Bowles was against the proposed ban, saying rather than banning it teams need to learn to defend it. It is unclear if the Bucs voted for or against the ban.)
From reports Joe read on Twitter about the vote this morning, it took a full-scale offensive led by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to persuade just enough owners to help keep football in football.
Among the arguments against the Tush Push are that it presents an elevated injury risk (data confirms it did not) and that it’s boring.
Well, gee whiz, if the NFL is going to ban boring, there are quite a few coaches who ought to be worried as hell about their careers. That’s sort of opening a can of worms there.
Also, in what has turned out to be a bad day for Goodell, NFL owners voted against a new seeding format for the playoffs that proposed division winners would no longer be guaranteed a home playoff game.
Joe was against this as well. If the NFL was going to do this, why have divisions? Joe offers up a compromise: A division-winner must have a winning record in order to host a home game on wild card weekend.
May 21st, 2025 at 12:51 pm
When a running back is stopped but still standing and the offensive line pushes him forward we don’t complain and I view it as a similar situation. Teams have stopped it (go Bucs) so it’s not unbeatable. I don’t think it’s boring as it’s amazing to see it beaten (especially by the Bucs!).
May 21st, 2025 at 12:52 pm
“Joe offers up a compromise: A division-winner must have a winning record in order to host a home game on wild card weekend.”
How about, they must have a winning record *outside* of their division.
May 21st, 2025 at 12:53 pm
“… if the NFL is going to ban boring, there are quite a few coaches who ought to be worried …”
This would have helped us tremendously a few years ago. Leftwich’s entire playbook would have been illegal. Hooray!
May 21st, 2025 at 12:54 pm
ROTFLMAO!!!
May 21st, 2025 at 1:03 pm
For the geniuses that blame Leftwich for the disaster offense of the the 2022 season, Tom Brady still proudly states that he was very involved in offensive game planning and playcalls…. that was Brady’s preferred offense. The biggest difference between 2020-2021 and 2022 is that Bruce Arians wasn’t here to tell Brady to STFU and run the play that was called. Leftwich didn’t have that kind of power…nobody else did. Arians routinely called Brady out in 2020 for not running the offense or the plays that were called. That boring, 50 short pass a game offense with 10 smokescreens per game and another premature checkdowns… that was all Brady’s doing.
May 21st, 2025 at 1:14 pm
Ban boring = Ban Bowles
May 21st, 2025 at 1:17 pm
“Leftwich didn’t have that kind of power…nobody else did.”
If the coach doesn’t have control of his players, then what’s his purpose for being around at all?
May 21st, 2025 at 1:30 pm
yawn. only exciting against Bucs who at least might stop it. if the eagles wanna torture Cam and drive him to early retirement I’m all for it. other teams don’t wanna torture their players I guess. god i hate that play though,
May 21st, 2025 at 1:38 pm
Cam? Do you mean Hurts. I know they both wear numbers one and are black but c’mon man
May 21st, 2025 at 1:44 pm
@Brandon
THANKS! Somebody else gets it!!!
@WalkthePlank
ZZZZZZZZZ. We get it already. You have an IRRATIONAL hate for Bowles!!!!
May 21st, 2025 at 1:44 pm
technically, the tush-push vote is going to an owner’s (and Goodell) only vote before the season. The Lions withdrew their motion to re-seed the playoffs.
May 21st, 2025 at 1:55 pm
Good news. Football needs more scrum.
May 21st, 2025 at 1:56 pm
Hating a 500 record and a 1-3 playoff record isn’t irrational
May 21st, 2025 at 2:01 pm
If a team wants to put it’s $60 million/year player in that position in in between that any large Humans then it’s on them.
On QB Sneaks defensive backs have always leaned on the back side of lineman not to give an inch. Teams have found a way to offset that advantage and keeping guys like Linebacker Luvu from launching himself into the QB’s chest. Down low and protected. Helps if they work on the Squats too.
Bucs could walk that 375 ponder up under center, go an a quick snap, and have a pretty sure thing too.
More danger in a ‘Refrigerator’ coming into the line @ full steam than the Tush Push.
6 more owners caved to pressure since the last meeting.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:03 pm
Can we ban commenters who keep name changing to say the same thing?
May 21st, 2025 at 2:08 pm
hawk – maybe could use that smaller sample if they played the same teams. or you’d need end-of-year SOS chart because division winners often have harder schedule. i think almost any system is gonna have a clear flaw though
May 21st, 2025 at 2:10 pm
why can’t defenses push their player too I guess is the question?
May 21st, 2025 at 2:13 pm
Bowles has our performed Vegas. Anyone acting like it was easy to win after the salary hell we were in because of the Brady all in mode does not seem to understand NFL salary cap issues IMO.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:17 pm
For those that want to Blame Brady and Leftwich for the horrible 2022 season you certainly were not paying attention.
Bucs had the 4the best Ranked Offensive Line going into the season. Jenson went down and Bucs O Line finished in the 4th tier as average and Forgettable.
If Jenson had retired in the off season Brady may have too. Heck you might have got Mayfield a year earlier and at the 2023 price tag too. he would have won a Super Bowl that season even with that terrible Front Line and that stellar running game.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Okay, Brandon. Leftwich AND Brady’s offensive calls sucked. Happy? Notice one of those two still has no job in the NFL.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:36 pm
Saw on Reddit Glazers voted to ban it actually. They were not listed as one of the ones who voted against the ban
May 21st, 2025 at 2:41 pm
Can anyone spell Vita Vea/ Desmond Watson? Bring it on little eagles.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:47 pm
“if the NFL is going to ban boring, there are quite a few coaches who ought to be worried as hell about their careers in the NFL then.”
Your words, Joe.
May 21st, 2025 at 2:59 pm
Standing ovation for the Joes on Tush Push, playoff seeding, winning record required for a home game, and Goodell’s over reach.
Thank you.
May 21st, 2025 at 3:09 pm
Boring
May 21st, 2025 at 3:14 pm
This is great news on both fronts.
May 21st, 2025 at 3:23 pm
“Joe offers up a compromise: A division-winner must have a winning record in order to host a home game on wild card weekend.”
How about the team that wins their division gets a home playoff game no matter what, since literally the entire point of winning your division is to get a home playoff game. Yeah, it would suck to have to go play a 7-10 team in Seattle in the first round of the playoffs – but if you can’t beat a 7-10 team in the playoffs, then why are you there?
May 21st, 2025 at 3:44 pm
I’m not a fan of the Tush Push. While no QB has been seriously hurt because of it yet, I can see it happening.
If a QB runs into 1200 pounds of Philadelphia Eagle defenders when going forward and is pushed from behind by someone like Desmond Watson & Vita Vea, that could cause some problems. It sounds to me like torture. 😉
May 21st, 2025 at 3:46 pm
A lineman is going to have a serious injury as a result of this decision.
1,000’s of pounds of weight and pressure on someone’s trapped bone or joint.
May 21st, 2025 at 4:09 pm
I can see if Desmond Watson makes the team and active on game day against the eaglets, every station like breaking news to watch the Eagles on 4th and 1 against the Bucs
May 21st, 2025 at 4:10 pm
Put big ol Watson in as QB and have Vea behind him tush push him. Easy 1 yard lol.
May 21st, 2025 at 4:29 pm
If Bowles was as successful as the same three of you claim, then why hasn’t the ownership offered him a new contract?
“CONTRACTS” say IT ALL!
Guess What??? NOT A PEEP…..
This is the head coaches probable last year. He will need a MIRACULOUS turn around in order to be invited to another year of one of the rarest jobs on the planet.
And to be perfectly honest, if you can’t even achieve communication in 5 YEARS then you’re probably not doing a very good job. Just a FACT, and I’m JUST SAYING….
Wonder who’s going to be our new head coach next season? Now THAT’S worth talking about! Hopefully he makes better and SMARTER decisions than the last one. For instance IF ONLY we had a Dedicated Defensive Coach… Hmmm
May 21st, 2025 at 5:03 pm
If I wanted to watch rugby I would. Lining up behind the ball carrier to push is not only eye watering boring, but its wack as hell and its been illegal longer than its been legal. Football to me is a FULL BACK and the I-Formation, and handing it to a running back up the gut going one on one with a linebacker and a Steve Atwater type player coming downhill like a scud f’ing missile. I know i know, things change, things evolve blah blah. Doesnt mean that everything changes is for the better, its aesthetically hideous and provides an unfair advantage to push. Someone explain to me how thats football, that is rugby and rugby SUCKS
May 21st, 2025 at 5:13 pm
I don’t have too much of an issue with the play, except that they’ve removed the ability to destroy the QB – which should be the result of this play. In the past, when the NFL would literally laugh at any limp wrist talking about flag football, John Lynch would do a flying elbow to the head of the QB, and that would end the play real quick, but now it’s just a big scrum with zero consequences. Still, I agree with Bowles, that it’s on defenses to figure out how to defend it – and if the answer is to get a 600lb sumo wrestler to anchor the middle, well, they have a roster exemption for a token foreign player – so send some scouts to Japan and lets see what they come back with.
May 21st, 2025 at 5:19 pm
Rod – I agree, if youre going to give quarterbacks (jalen Hurts) every advantage in the world by pushing him for christ sake and neutering defenses even more, then how about on a 3 and 6 – if Jalen or whomever is going to pull the ball down and run, they cant give themselves up. How ’bout that. Want the advantage of being pushed? Fine, then safeties can run up on you and knock you in to next week. Fair?
May 21st, 2025 at 5:25 pm
munch – we practically already did that haha
May 21st, 2025 at 5:28 pm
half-sac — Cam Jurgens is their new center
May 21st, 2025 at 5:29 pm
half-sac — you reminded me of Mac from Sunny thinking random guy in bathroom was Jalen Hurts lmao
May 21st, 2025 at 6:20 pm
Maybe they will ban the Up the Gut for none on 1st down.
May 21st, 2025 at 6:33 pm
When some QB gets a compound fracture they’ll revote. It’s a stupid and boring play.
May 21st, 2025 at 6:43 pm
I’m really hoping that one of these years, a team suffers some early injuries, loses a few games, then fights its way back into the playoffs—maybe even winning its division with an 8-9 or 9-9 record (once the season expands to 18 games next year or the year after)—and ends up winning it all.
All this talk about how teams with losing records shouldn’t be in the playoffs is ridiculous to me. Any given Sunday, any team can win.
Just look at two of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl losses: one to Eli Manning, when the Patriots were undefeated heading into the game—only to lose thanks in part to the incredible David Tyree helmet catch—and the other to the Falcons, who blew a 28-3 lead. It proves that anything can happen in the playoffs.
Honestly it just feels like a matter of time…..
May 21st, 2025 at 6:52 pm
Any time Goodell doesn’t get his way it’s a good day for NFL fans. The guy has ruined the game.
May 21st, 2025 at 7:08 pm
Jeffrey Becker Says:
why can’t defenses push their player too I guess is the question?
^^^^^^
That’s the only issue I see. The NFL outlawed this same thing on defense and special teams defense. Be consistent.
May 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
Philly fans don’t think it’s stupid and boring. I don’t either. QB sneak is no less boring. If I’m an offense, putting the ball in the end zone is exciting. I don’t care how you do it.
May 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
People think this is something new? How many years has a QB kept the ball and players try to help push him over the goal line? This play is nothing new and been going on as far back as when I was in High School. That was over 50 years ago I know of.
May 21st, 2025 at 8:48 pm
I’m not a fan of the play at all, just like I’m not a fan of Australian rugby. American football is about play scheming and outsmarting the defense on the other side of the line with offenses that scheme against another teams defenses, often times based on the talent of the players on the field. However now it’s about how much weight and muscle you can pile into a human battering ram?
On a global scale, what other professional sports organization fills stadiums in other countries every time they play overseas? Which other league has its teams’ gear sold around the globe by the thousands? My guess is the NFL is #1 on that list, and by quite a large margin, too.
And guess what? They became that big globally in only a little more than 10 decades, compared to many sports like soccer, which has been around for centuries. And, they did were able to do it without the tush push! They did it because of the uniqueness and quality of play calling on both sides of the ball countering the opponents play calling on the other side of the ball.
Not now, it’s okay to just make it a muscle, fat, testerone push play? Talk about boring. Come on guys, that’s muscle vs. muscle, weight vs. weight, force vs. force…just like rope tugs, fake wrestling, and truck pulls. I don’t watch them either.
Tush push should be gone!
May 21st, 2025 at 8:49 pm
DBS when I played high school football 50 years ago I never saw anyone run it. I’m sure it was illegal. They just recently made it legal in the NFL. I don’t think it’s legal in high school or college anywhere even now is it?
May 21st, 2025 at 8:56 pm
DBS, I looked it up to be sure but the tush push has never been legal in high school or college football. It isn’t legal under NFL rules and I believe it goes against the rules.