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The Philadelphia Eagles’ “Tush Push” move is once again the point of discussion, amid their 28–22 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. However, this time it’s not about its effectiveness, it’s rather about whether the officials can keep up with it. The play that has helped define Jalen Hurts’ short-yardage dominance is now under scrutiny. As per The Athletic NFL, posted on X, ”The conversation around the tush push had centered in the offseason around health and safety concerns — though not enough for the play to be banned. Now the conversation has turned toward how it’s officiated.” Another stress for the Eagles and their quarterback, Jalen Hurts. At the NFL’s fall owners’ meetings, Troy Vincent said on Tuesday, “It’s very difficult to officiate in real time.” He further continued, “What we’re seeing is that line judge, sometimes on a replay we see the guard jump or the guard move. It’s hard when the guard was in the neutral zone or someone else was in the neutral zone — it is really hard for the line judge to identify that based on where he’s at looking down the line of scrimmage.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Vincent acknowledged that Philadelphia remains unmatched at executing the play. “We’ve seen other people have versions of it,” he admitted. Other teams have tried their own versions with mixed results. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Kansas City’s Chris Jones once lined up sideways over the center during last season’s Super Bowl in a failed attempt to counter it, even injuring his neck in the process. The Vikings tried a similar alignment in Week 7, putting defensive lineman Tyler Batty flat across the line. For all its controversy, the numbers tell the story of why the Eagles keep going back to it. Since 2022, non–Tush Push plays have a 67% success rate. On the other hand, the Tush Push has an 84.8% success rate. And the Eagles have perfected it, with a 91.3% success rate over the past three seasons. But after the Chiefs clash, the voices once again increased to ban the play. The NFL’s vice-president of officiating training and development said, ”Anytime we have this situation we’re in short yardage, we know we want to make sure that we officiate these plays — the offensive team has to be perfect in every aspect.” Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports “We want to officiate it tight.” The league has since penalized teams, including the Steelers, for false starts on similar plays. Still, the Eagles remain unapologetic — and nearly unstoppable. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad However, it’s not the first time that tush push is the center of debate. Back in May, this play was almost banned by the NFL. Jalen Hurts’ Eagles’ tush push survives the NFL ban attempts Despite the mounting scrutiny, the Tush Push remains legal in 2025. During the NFL’s May owners’ meetings, a proposal to ban the play fell just short, receiving 22 of the 24 votes required to pass. Former Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy authored the motion, citing safety concerns, but with limited evidence linking the play to injuries, it failed to convince enough owners. However, after his retirement, this move was left in uncertainty. But the NFL did make some changes to the play. Such as from this season, for this play, the pushers must line up behind the quarterback by a full yard. The motive behind this was to lessen the impact of the play so that the teams themselves would lower their reliance on it, limiting an instantaneous shove forward. The Eagles easily adapted to the changes. In a single game against the Chiefs, they used it six times. It did not stop here against the Giants matchup; they used back to back four tush push in a row. The Eagles’ former center, Jason Kelce, feels that the ‘play is done.’ He then continued, “I think they are trying to time it and going too early now and lining it up too close.” Whatsoever it is, one thing is certain: The play isn’t going anywhere, at least not this season.
