'Tush Push' to remain legal play in NFL for 2024 season
The “Tush Push” is here to stay. The Philadelphia Eagles popularized the play this season, consistently utilizing it when they needed a guaranteed yard. Quarterback Jalen Hurts would snap the ball and immediately surge forward while his teammates pushed him from behind.
It was nearly unstoppable. Hurts finished this past season with 15 rushing touchdowns, the most ever by a quarterback in a single season. With the play’s dominance evident, other teams began to campaign for it to be outlawed.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided fans with an update on the Tush Push’s future in the NFL.
“NFL is leaving the ‘Tush Push’ as a legal play for the 2024 season,” Schefter wrote on X. “NFL executive Troy Vincent said today that there will not be any proposal presented this off-season to ban it for next season. ‘The Eagles,’ Vincent said on a conference call, ‘do it well.'”
It isn’t the first time the Tush Push’s legality has been debated. In spring last year, the NFL was supposed to discuss the play’s status in the modern game. However, the administrators never took an official vote on the controversial quarterback sneak.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell claimed he wanted the league to consider all aspects of the Tush Push before coming to a conclusive decision.
“Are there other aspects of it that we need to think about?” Goodell told reporters. “A lot of coaches talked last year about (how) innovation would come off of that play. I’d like to take a look back at that; has that really occurred?
“It’s important to hear the different perspectives and let the committee do their work. I’ll be able to participate in that. And I’m sure we’ll have a position by (the owners’ meetings) March.”
Jason Kelce reveals his perspective on the Tush Push
His schedule was spot-on. The play isn’t going anywhere and other teams must adjust. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting the Eagles aren’t particularly adamant for the play to stay in the game. In December, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce addressed the hot-button issue.
“Ban it! I really … at this point, I don’t care,” Kelce said in an episode of his New Heights podcast that he hosts with brother, Travis Kelce.
Jason Kelce has also previously pulled back the curtain on why the play is so difficult to stop.
“It’s not a play that you can practice full-speed,” Kelce said. “Nobody practices it on Wednesday at the tempo it’s going to be in the game. Because we’ve had so many reps in the past two years on that play, we have a better breadth of knowledge of how to hit the nuances and all work in the same direction. I think it adds up.”