There’s still plenty of time for things to change, but the NFL competition committee isn’t expecting any attempts to ban the tush push this offseason.
“There’s no team proposal that I’ve seen from it,” committee co-chairman Rich McKay said Sunday, via ESPN. “So, I wouldn’t envision it. But you never know.”
The controversial play has drawn plenty of criticism, and multiple attempts to ban it, in recent years after teams — notably the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills — have found incredible success with it.
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Last season was incredibly contentious, and the Green Bay Packers pushed the proposed ban during offseason meetings in 2025. But 10 teams ended up voting against that ban, and it was two votes short of passing. In order for a rule change, the NFL requires approval from at least 24 of its 32 franchise owners. Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was among those fighting to keep the play in the league during discussions last time around.
According to ESPN, there were 112 attempted tush pushes last season — which is 11 more than the 2024 campaign. The Eagles attempted the most (27) and the Bills were second (17). In total, teams successfully converted a first down on a tush push about 77% of the time.
There was plenty of outrage over the play this past season, too. The Eagles, for example, scored a touchdown on a tush push despite officials clearly missing a false start on the play during their game in September. The Jacksonville Jaguars were completely unable to stop Bills quarterback Josh Allen on an attempt in the playoffs, too. Allen ended up going 10 yards before he was brought down, and former official-turned-rules analyst for NBC and Amazon Terry McAuley lit up the league for it.
“I very much hope the NFL competition committee addresses this in the offseason,” McAuley wrote last month. “This just cannot be a legal play any more. Now, only pulling a runner is illegal. All pushing, pulling or lifting a runner by a teammate should be illegal.”
But, at least for now, it seems like any tush push ban will have to wait until next offseason. The play should be available again this fall, whether certain teams are able to stop it or not.
