The Philadelphia Eagles with quarterback Jalen Hurts under center are the most effective team in the NFL at running the “tush push.” (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
NFL owners voted Tuesday to “table” the proposal to ban the “tush push.”
That’s a start. The next step should be to pack up the table, ship it to Buffalo, set it up in the parking lot outside Highmark Stadium and let Bills fans do their thing.
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The logic behind banning the “tush push” — you know the play, shoving a QB from behind to gain a yard or two — has been flawed from the start. It began with the Green Bay Packers submitting a proposal, arguing that player safety and pace of play were being compromised by the play.
Except that … there is no evidence the play has caused a single injury, per the NFL, and pace of play, really? What, because once the Washington Commanders decided to jump offsides four times in an effort to stop it?
“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Packers team president Mark Murphy argued.
No skill? Automatic first down?
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Then every NFL team would run the play, right?
Well, no, actually.
As it turns out, only two teams — the Philadelphia Eagles (the OG of the tush push) and Buffalo Bills — run it with any regularity. Those two teams have run the play 163 times over the last three seasons, according to ESPN research, which is more than the rest of the NFL combined, and they’ve run it successfully 87% of the time compared to 71% for the rest of the league.
So yeah, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist — or even a third grader — to figure out what’s going on here. The Eagles and Bills run the play effectively because they have bulldozers at quarterback and the rest of the league doesn’t, and rather than figure out how to stop the play on the field, some want to stop it off it.
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By this logic, let’s ban running backs from using the stiff arm — looking at you, Derrick Henry — or quarterbacks from using their legs more than Joe Burrow — that’s 42 rushes, Lamar, you’ve reached your quota!
Subjectively it can be argued the play is “boring” or “bad football.” But it cannot be objectively argued that it takes “no skill.” That only two teams run it with any regularity screams to how difficult the play is to execute. Even in subjective sports, like gymnastics, degree of difficulty + execution is rewarded, not thwarted.
If proponents of a ban want to make the philosophical argument that pushing a ball carrier forward is rugby, not football, then have that discussion, and include pushing a ball carrier anywhere on the field, not just behind the line of scrimmage, because why should that matter?
For now, good on the NFL owners for not choosing to stop a play with a ballot rather than their defensive lines.
