The Tush Push debate: Is the play still legal and what are the new NFL rules about the brotherly shove?

Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles caused a hot debate in the NFL with a play called the Tush Push. If you’re somehow not familiar, the Tush Push or as it’s sometimes called, The Brotherly Shove, the rugby sneak, and as the Kelce brothers Jason and Travis call it, “Organized Mass”, is a play in which the ball runner is pushed from behind in order to gain the necessary yardage for a down. It’s similar to a rugby scrum and it was introduced in the 2022 season by the Philadelphia Eagles, who have since mastered it, leaving many others in the league and outside it, completely enraged.

Spoiler alert: The NFL did not ban the Tush Push in 2024. There were many people calling for its ban, but the arguments against it were just weak. However, there has been a slight amendment to the play. And one other thing...future Hall of Famer center Jason Kelce has since retired. Kelce was the heart of the Tush Push for the Eagles, and perhaps the main reason for its success. Without him, can the Eagles still pull it off? Until later tonight, we have just one game in which to judge that by, and the answer is...maybe not as often or as well. But it’s too early to really say.

The NFL’s change to the Tush Push in 2024

Despite all the talk of banning the Tush Push for the 2024-25 season, the NFL just clarified one of the rules surrounding it. The “pushers” are now required to stand at least one yard behind the quarterback before the ball is snapped. That means the players behind the quarterback can’t immediately enact the shove.

Last season, the Eagles perfected the move with Jalen Hurts at quarterback, Jason Kelce at center, and then two players directly behind Hurts ready to shove him forward. They would typically use this play on a 4th and short or 4th and goal near the goal line instead of the quarterback sneak, and they were almost always successful. The other teams around the league couldn’t quite seem to find that same success, which is why there was so much opposition to it in general.

But now that Kelce is out of the picture, it’s not certain the Eagles will find that same success this season. The Eagles played their first game of the season last Friday in São Paulo, Brazil against the Green Bay Packers. During their 34-29 win, they utilized the Tush Push as per usual. However, it wasn’t quite as successful as they’d become accustomed.

With just over a minute left in the game, the Eagles were at the Packers’ 1-yard line and just two points ahead. Kelce tweeted this:

They indeed tried for a Tush Push. But it did not end it. With Cam Jurgens now at center, he snapped the ball to Hurts, but it hit the ground and running back Saquon Barkley just barely saved them from a turnover by falling on the ball.

Kelce’s next tweet:

The Eagles attempted the Tush Push four times and failed twice, succeeded on one, and saw the Packers get called for Encroachment on another, giving Philly the automatic first down. In 2022, when the Eagles started using the play, they saw a 93% first-down success rate. They used it way more in 2023 and saw an 83% success rate. So a 50% success rate in Week 1 is quite a bit below their standards. One game is a pretty small sample, but it’s still begs the question if Kelce was the main reason for its success.

“Kelce did such a good job of staying low consistently,” Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “I think it’s why we were so successful...him and then our two guards and tackles kind of seep in and make sure there’s no leakage. He did a good job with his leverage and really knowing how to execute. We’re going to try and keep it to the same standard as far as execution-wise, but as you know every [Eagles] team looks different, players look different so we’ve still got to wait and see.”

We’ll get another chance to see how well they pull it off tonight when the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. You can follow all the action with our very own Dane Arlauckas’ text commentary right here on AS USA.

The argument against the Tush Push in the 2023 season

As much as I despise the Eagles and want to root for their failure, I have to give credit where it’s due. When Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said that no one could do the Tush Push like they can, he was not wrong. And those who were looking to ban it seemed to simply be upset that their team couldn’t do it themselves.

The arguments against the Tush Push are pretty weak: it’s dangerous and it’s boring. Let’s address the first argument. It’s true that two Giants players were injured trying to pull it off in 2023. But that’s just a testament to the fact that they don’t know how to do it well. But here’s the other thing: every play in football is dangerous and risky. You practice it, you perfect it, and you do your best to protect and stay protected. That’s just football in a nutshell. Even still, Kelce, who usually ends up at the bottom of the pile, has admitted he’s not the biggest fan of the move himself. Yet, it was perhaps his willingness to do so anyway that made the move so successful for Philly.

“Every time we did it [Kelce] always said, ‘Man, we’ve got to run it? OK.’ But when he ran it, it was balls to the wall, 100%,” said Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata. “We were going to get that first down.”

But again - being buried comes with risk just as blocking the quarterback in the scrum may pose an injury risk, just as any other football play or tackle comes with a risk. It’s the nature of the game. Of course, if it had been proven to cause more injuries compared to other plays, the league may have really considered a ban. As it stands, it seems to be no more risky than any other part of the game.

When it started to become a signature move for the Eagles in 2022, the league sent out a memo to every team about the “assisting the runner” penalty, which basically just confirmed that the play was legal. The rule states that the runner cannot be pulled, but it does not state that he cannot be pushed. So, it was a fair play then and it’s a fair play now. Not only is it fair, but it is clever. What it isn’t anymore is unpredictable. And that brings us to argument number two - it’s “lame”.

Because the Eagles have been so successful with this play, they continue using it, more often than not picking up the extra yard at 4th and 1 without much difficulty. At the moment, when a team (not named the Eagles) decides to go for it on 4th down, there is a lot of anxiety and excitement - will they convert? Was it worth the risk? Will we be cursing the play caller after this or not? But when the Eagles do it, and in theory any other team who may perfect it in the future, well then, where’s the fun in that? Unfortunately for the critics though, plays don’t typically get banned solely because they are less entertaining.

Instead, to make it more entertaining, the NFL is allowing the defenses to figure out a way to stop the Eagles from (almost) always succeeding at the Tush Push, and they’re starting to do so. They’re allowing the offenses of the other teams to try and pull it off the same way the Eagles can (or could). The only reason the Eagles had the advantage on the Tush Push was because of the talent surrounding them, and that’s an advantage - not an unfair advantage. (It wasn’t enough to win them Super Bowl LVII after all…sorry, couldn’t help myself.) All 32 NFL teams have the opportunity to get better at the Tush Push and I am glad the NFL is letting them do so. At the very least so I have an excuse to keep writing “Tush Push”.