Despite the league's best efforts, the Philadelphia Eagles' famous 'tush push' play will remain legal. And despite the Eagles' best efforts, they may still have trouble against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Eagles' patented quarterback sneak, in which players line up behind quarterback Jalen Hurts and physically push him over his linemen, has gotten a lot of scrutiny from NFL players, coaches and fans. Many criticisms have been levied at it, from people saying it isn't a "football play" to believing it has a high risk of injury. The Green Bay Packers put forth the idea to ban it, proposing that the NFL's law against pushing players that was active until 2005 (a rule that was not enforced) be reintegrated into the rulebook.
That won't be the case, though. The vote to ban the 'tush push' needed 24 votes to pass, and it only got 22 — a vote of 22-10 keeps it alive, and the Eagles can keep running it.
And, of course, the Buccaneers can keep stopping it.
The Bucs have had some success in halting the Eagles' most vaunted play. Fans would point you toward a particular example in the two teams' playoff matchup in 2023, where the Bucs stopped it twice — once on 3rd & Goal before surrendering a touchdown on 4th & Goal, and a second time during a two-point conversion attempt.
.@Buccaneers stop the 2-pt tush push!!
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/Lpl1piR1IY— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
Seems like having a Vita Vea could be the key to stopping the play. Maybe other teams should consider signing one.
Head coach Todd Bowles and Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht both previously expressed their disagreements with banning the play, and the play will now live on. It's unknown if the Glazers, Tampa Bay's owners, were one of the 10 dissenting votes, but the Bucs will have to contend with it once again when they play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 on the 2025 NFL season.
