There is never a dull moment for the Philadelphia Eagles. Even during the offseason, the team seems to find itself at the front of headlines. The latest example of this is in regards to their signature tush push play. It has been a very controversial play since the team started implementing it with Jalen Hurts under center. Calls for the play to be banned have been made in offseasons prior and this one appears to me no exception.
The Latest Attempt to Ban The Tush Push
It was originally reported yesterday that an anonymous team submitted a proposal to ban the Birds’ signature play. That team has now been revealed to be none other than the Green Bay Packers. The article from the New York Times also discusses previous deliberations on a potential ban of the play.
Dating back to the 2023 offseason, the NFL’s competition committee held discussions on whether or not to ban the play but ultimately a vote was never cast. Also, in December 2023, no major injury concerns were found regarding the play by research conducted by the league. So if it’s not an injury risk and calls to ban it previously have failed, why are teams still pushing for it to go away?
Why Do Teams Want The Play To Be Banned?
Quite frankly, it’s borderline unstoppable. The team has around a 90% conversion rate when running the play. This is because of a unique combination of personnel the Eagles have assembled over the years constructing their latest Super Bowl-winning roster.
For two seasons previously, taking snaps at center for the play was Jason Kelce before he retired. Having an elite center in Kelce was only the start. Hurts can also squat 600 pounds, which makes stopping the Eagles forward momentum on short-yardage plays nearly impossible.
The team continued their success in 2024 with new center Cam Jurgens. Saquon Barkley has also been an underrated addition for the sake of this play. Barkley has a power-lifting history of his own which adds another man behind Hurts with power.
This trifecta allowed the Eagles to score the opening touchdown of the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the play simply being dominant shouldn’t be a reason for it to be banned.
Why the Play Shouldn’t Be Banned
First of all, this would essentially be punishing one team for simply being better at an element of the game than any other team. That’s like banning Justin Tucker from the league because he’s historically more successful at making field goals than any other team’s kicker.
Also, the Eagles aren’t the only team that uses the play, they just do it the best. A perfect example of this is when the Buffalo Bills failed to convert their own version of the tush push in the AFC Championship game.
The reason for this is the Eagles have specifically constructed their roster to run this play better than anyone in the league. It isn’t cheating, it has been proven it can be stopped and it takes skill to run. Also, as mentioned previously, it doesn’t increase the risk of injury.
It seems like teams are running out of options for why it should be banned. It hasn’t been banned in years prior and there’s no reason for that to change now.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
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