Recently retired Philadelphia Eagles legend Brandon Graham has pushed back against efforts to ban the Tush Push. In Graham’s view, NFL teams should spend more time figuring out how to stop the play rather than lobbying for its removal.
Brandon Graham Plays Down Importance of Tush Push
Appearing on a recent episode of “Up & Adams,” the Super Bowl champion said the Eagles weren’t reliant on the Tush Push. Asked by host Kay Adams if the team needed the play, Graham responded confidently and suggested it’s not unstoppable.
“We didn’t need it. We didn’t need it at all,” Graham said.
He then shared why he believes no team has been able to stop it. “Everybody knows what’s coming,” Graham said. “And if we didn’t have the personnel for it, then, of course, y’all would stop it.”
Graham credited the Eagles’ dominant offensive line for the play’s success.
“Those guys are big up front, and it’s a technique that we work [on] and practice. It’s not like anything else.”
He also said every play eventually runs its course in the NFL.
“They gonna figure out something. This league is very, very smart, and they always find you,” Graham said. “That’s one thing I respect about this league. If you get an offseason on the guy that killed it one year, you better make sure you stay consistent. Because they [are] coming for you this year. That same stuff that got you last year might not be as good this year.”
When asked if he’d ever stopped the Tush Push in practice, Graham revealed the Eagles don’t run the play against their starting defense.
“We don’t run it against each other,” Graham said. The 15-year Eagle said that whenever Philadelphia practiced the play, it was always against the second-string defense.
Adams seemed surprised. “So you’ve never tried to stop [it]? That’s surprising to me.”
Graham calmly repeated that the first time the starters see the play is during a live game. “The first time that they do it is out there in live action,” he said.
Graham Says Teams Should Be Challenging Themselves To Stop Tush Push
As for teams wanting the play banned, Graham didn’t hold back.
“If another team was doing it, I would be challenged to be like, ‘Hey man, we gonna be the one to stop that,’” he said.
The idea of banning the play didn’t sit well with Graham. “I wouldn’t even think like that. I wouldn’t even wanna tell nobody that, ‘Man, ban that.’”
Eagles DON'T need the TUSH PUSH to win.
Brandon Graham thinks teams should figure out how to STOP the tush push instead of trying to BAN it.@heykayadams | @brandongraham55 pic.twitter.com/aOQCBR1Vg3
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) April 9, 2025
Graham added that teams should challenge themselves to stop it, just as the Eagles challenged themselves to create it. He again said the Eagles “have the personnel for it,” and he doubled down on the idea that it can be stopped.
Given his admission that Philadelphia’s starting defense has never faced the Tush Push in practice, some may take his confidence with a grain of salt. But if the team can make the case that the play’s success comes from execution rather than design, it may help them avoid having it banned.
Whether the Tush Push sticks around or gets pulled from the playbook, the debate over its place in the game isn’t ending anytime soon.