Following a proposal from the Green Bay Packers to ban the tush push, the NFL team owners tabled a vote to determine the fate of the Eagles’ infamous tactic. This means the league’s final decision will now be on hold while further discussions and observations are being made, as there was an agreement that more information is needed before there is an official vote on the ban.
For the change to be effected, 24 of 32 team owners must vote in support of the new rule, However, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, 16 teams opposed the ban, which is good news for the Eagles amid ongoing discussions regarding a possible ban.
The Packers’ proposal sought “to prohibit any offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”
With the proposal, they were seeking to amend Rule 12, Section 1, Article 4 which deals with rules on assisting the runner and interlocking interference. And their reasons for proposing the rule change are “player safety”and “pace of play,” even when the league is yet to record any injury as a result of the tush push
Other teams and coaches have lined up on both sides of the fence, with the Eagles receiving support from unexpected rivals, while the Packers have been heavily backed up by Bills coach Sean McDermott, despite his team using the tush push more than any other team in the league aside from the Eagles.
A previous rule change had enforced a prohibition against pushing ball-carriers, which made Nick Sirianni develop the play that uses other backs to help push Jalen Hurts into the line in goal-line situations.
The play has benefitted Hurts in tremendous ways since he joined the Eagles, helping him to four consecutive seasons with at least 10 touchdowns, two more seasons than any other quarterback.
With the help of the tush push, Hurts also set the record for playoff touchdowns by a quarterback with 10, scoring half of them from 1-yard runs. Also, 33 of his 54 touchdowns have come on 1-yard runs
The news of the tabled vote was met with subtle celebrations from the Eales’ social media team and offensive lineman, Lane Johnson.
The longtime Eagles’ player reacted with a post on X,
“Hate us cause they ain’t us!”
While the tush push was the major bone of contention at the meeting, the NFL team owners were able to approve other changes. Overtime rules have been revised, the kickoff rule has been modified and the replay assist has been expanded ahead of the coming season.
Regular season overtime rules will now match those in playoffs, as the proposal was amended to make overtime 10 minutes, not 15 minutes.. Also, both teams will have a chance to get possession even if the offense scores a touchdown on the opening drive.
A proposal from the NFL Competition Committee was also approved. The proposal allowed replay assist to consult on-field officials to overrule objective calls.
For the kickoff rule, touchbacks will be moving to the 35-yard line instead of the 30.
Regarding the tush push, the owners will be looking to have made significant progress in their review before their next meeting in May.
