Tush push survives as NFL owners vote not to ban controversial play

An NFL owners vote on a proposal to ban the controversial play made famous by the Eagles failed to get the 75 percent required (24 of 32 owners) for it to pass on Wednesday, according to

multiple reports.

At least nine and possibly 10 teams voted against banning the tush push, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, adding that the Jets, Patriots, Lions and Ravens were among those who sided with the

Eagles.

Green Bay first proposed the rule change in April, but tabled a vote after they didn’t have enough support for the ban.

They changed the language for it to mimic the rule that was in place before 2005.

The effect of the rule as noted by NFL Network would have been that it “Prohibits an offensive player from pushing, pulling, lifting or assisting the runner except by individually blocking

opponents for him.”

The Eagles had perfected the play thanks in part to the power of quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has proven nearly unstoppable in short-yardage situations with the help of other players pushing

him forward.

Packers president Mark Murphy wrote a scathing rebuke of the tush push in a Q&A published on the Packers’ website.

“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” he wrote. “The play is bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of

the runner. This would bring back the traditional QB sneak. That worked pretty well for Bart Starr and the Packers in the Ice Bowl.”

While there has been plenty of focus on it, ESPN Research found that the tush push was utilized in only 0.28 percent of total plays last year, with Philadelphia and Buffalo using it the

most.

The Bills and Eagles had run the play a total of 163 times last season, with Philly converting on 90 percent of its short-yardage situations.

“You know how I feel about it,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Tuesday ahead of the vote, according to the Delaware News Journal. “We were at the owners’ meetings, and we talked

about how we felt about it. I don’t think anyone can question what my sentiment is, so we’ll see what happens.”

Eagles’ CEO Jeffrey Lurie had criticized the idea of banning the tush push back in April.

He told reporters back then that he didn’t “remember a play being banned because a single team or a few teams were running it effectively.”