The Philadelphia Eagles first implemented the play that would become known as the Tush Push in 2021. It did not take long for other teams to become outraged. The play is challenging to defend against and contributed to their 2025 Super Bowl win.
The Green Bay Packers were among the teams seeking to ban the Tush Push, citing safety concerns. However, it has always seemed a bit more like sour grapes. To date, no other team has successfully implemented the play as the Eagles have. So not only can teams not stop it, they can’t replicate it.
That’s why the Packers submitted a proposal to ban the Tush Push during the recent owners’ meeting. However, not even the most powerful folks in football could stop the Tush Push, and Eagles fans have Jason Kelce to thank.
Jason Kelce and the Eagles Fought To Save the Tush Push
The Tush Push involves the quarterback being shoved forward by members of the offense through the defensive line. Generally, the running back and the tight end line up behind the quarterback and stuff him through.
It is used in short-yardage situations and has been wildly successful for Philadelphia. However, it lacks finesse and appears more like a rugby scrum than a football play.
That’s why the Eagles brought the big guns to the owners’ meeting — Kelce, the Eagles’ former center. After spending 13 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, Kelce has become something of a God among men, and few former players are as beloved. That’s why Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had him speak about the play.
On a recent episode of “Unsportsmanlike Radio” on ESPN, Adam Schefter described how impassioned speeches from both Lurie and Kelce are what saved the play.
“I think the Eagles made a very persuasive argument. You needed 24 teams to vote against it, and the league got 22. They fell two votes short,” Schefter explained.
How did we get to the place where the tush push is going to be allowed in 2025? @AdamSchefter joined us on Unsportsmanlike pic.twitter.com/gVoY0bmxuX
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) May 27, 2025
Schefter said that the Eagles spent a lot of time during the weeks leading up to the meetings making personal phone calls. They phoned every owner, general manager, and head coach personally to lobby on behalf of the play.
“I think when you bring in Jason Kelce and explain the play, and he’s explaining that he doesn’t believe the player is more at risk, it’s more about leverage and getting down, and that there’s not an increased risk for injury,” Schefter said about the impact he thinks Kelce had. “I think people heard him and they were able to do enough, not a lot, but enough to prevent those final two teams from switching over.”
Schefter explained that there are 32 teams, and for the Tush Push to be banned, 24 were needed to agree with the Packers. That is why Schefter thinks the final vote is the craziest part: “The vote came in 22-10, which also happened to be the score that the Eagles beat the Packers in the playoff game this past season.”
He said that the conspiracy theorists who think the NFL is scripted will have a blast with this one. The Packers not only lost their last postseason game in part because of the Tush Push but also lost the vote to ban it by the same score.