The Tush Push quarterback sneak play has been the Philadelphia Eagles’ go-to call on fourth-and-short for the past few years — and it’s worked at an insane rate. That success might be why other teams, starting with the Green Bay Packers, submitted a proposal to ban it.
With the play now up for a vote, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has come out to support the ban — even though his team has used it. But his reasoning didn’t exactly hit home.
Bills HC Sean McDermott Highlights Player Safety to Ban Tush Push
Philadelphia’s version of the quarterback sneak has been a nightmare for defenses. While evidence supports teams have started to slow it down since it took off in 2022, the Eagles have continued to master the play — and it helped fuel their latest Super Bowl run.
The Bills have used it, too — but McDermott still wants it gone. McDermott pointed to potential injury risks, echoing the same reasoning the Packers included in their proposal. Still, the ninth-year head coach admitted no real data supports the safety concerns. He stressed that the league should be proactive regardless.
“I’m not a doctor, so I’m not gonna get too deep into that situation in terms of how much data, how much sample,” McDermott said via Eliot Shorr-Parks of WIP. “I don’t think that’s always really the best way to go. There’s other data out there that when you’re in a posture like we’re talking about, that can lead to serious injury. I think being responsible and proactive in that regard is the right way to go.”
Sean McDermott is still anti-Tush Push
Says he still has injury concern even though the data suggests there is no injury risk pic.twitter.com/oi0he4Ny21
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) March 31, 2025
Still, the league will unlikely ban the Tush Push for safety reasons alone. There isn’t enough injury data on the play, mainly because it’s not run often. If anything, the rule change would have to come from the league deciding that pushing the ball carrier for extra yards just isn’t fair to the defense.
If the proposal passes on April 1, though, Nick Sirianni and teams across the league that’ve tried replicating the play will need to cook up a new fourth-down go-to this offseason. Maybe one of the NFL’s creative coaches will develop a new signature play.
Will the Packers and the rest of the league succeed in getting the play banned, or will the Super Bowl champion Eagles get to keep on pushing the Tush in 2025? Fans will watch closely for the committee’s decision.