The Tush Push will stick around for the 2025 NFL season, thanks in part to the New England Patriots.
On Wednesday, league owners voted on a proposed rule change that would ban the QB sneak play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the rule change fell short of the 24 votes it needed to pass.
But it was close. Schefter reports that the 32 owners were split, 22-10. Schefter added that the Patriots were one of the teams that sided with the Eagles to keep the play around.
When asked about the play earlier this offseason, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said that the league should be careful about outright banning plays that are difficult to defend.
“What I think we should not do, and be careful of, is there’s a lot of different plays that you have to defend that the offense does well — and that particular play you have to defend it. It’s also tough to defend Lamar Jackson when he runs the ball.
“So I’m all in favor of getting rid of those plays that are tough to defend, but, you know, we just try to focus on what the rules are and try to use them to our advantage.”
The Tush Push is a short-yardage play popularized by the Eagles. It’s a type of quarterback sneak that involves a push from players in the backfield to surge for a short gain.
Philadelphia, in particular, has found great success with the play, to the point where other teams have griped about whether the play should be legal.
The Green Bay Packers were the team that submitted the proposal to ban the play. The proposal first appeared back in April, but was tabled and updated to the version that was voted on Wednesday.
