The Philadelphia Eagles have made the tush push the most popular play in the NFL today. Now, the infamous play call that took the league by storm and has been one of the most effective plays in modern NFL history could be headed for a ban.
After achieving unrivaled success with the tush push on their way to winning the NFC in 2022, the Eagles faced the possibility of losing it before the 2023 season. The NFL weighed barring the play, but it was never brought up during league meetings this offseason.
While there reportedly wasn’t enough support for the play to be eliminated this season, one powerful force could push for its removal this spring.
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According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly wants the tush push banned from the game permanently. While there’s some opposition to its removal, Russini notes that the competition committee has several Eagles’ rivals.
Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera could be removed from the competition committee following his termination at the end of the regular season, but it still leaves New York Giants owner John Mara and Dallas Cowboys COO Stephen Jones to help ban the tush push in 2024.
When the NFL first started considering a ban on the play, it was believed the league wouldn’t be successful. Realistically, per reports, the only path to its removal would be if NFL data showed there was a higher injury rate on the play.
However, per The Athletic, initial data gathered by the league has found that there isn’t a higher injury rate on the tush push. While there have been a few small instances of a player getting injured under the pile of bodies, those instances have largely been the exception.
Unfortunately for the Eagles’ organization, they don’t have a single member on the competition committee. As a result, they’ll be relying upon lobbying of other NFL teams and general support for the play in order for the tush push to return in 2024.
