The Philadelphia Eagles and their infamous Tush Push was put under the microscope after the team's Week 2 win over the Chiefs, and for good reason. While the play was obviously not banned after going to a vote this offseason, fans in Kansas City and throughout the NFL simply asked that the play be officiated correctly — namely with not allowing Eagles offensive linemen to false start or line up in the neutral zone.
Following the outcry of the several times the Eagles did those illegal things against the Chiefs (and evidence of countless other times that was the case), the NFL appeared to take action. The league told officials entering Week 3 and Philly's matchup with the Los Angeles Rams that they needed to keep a close watch on the Tush Push to officiate any penalty-worthy activity.
Not that anyone is shocked by this when it comes to NFL refs, but they failed miserably and did so immediately.
On the Eagles' first drive of the game, they lined up for the Tush Push just inside the 5-yard line to get a first down and keep the drive alive. And just one look at the replay of them converting the first down showed that the right guard moved noticeably early on the play to help gain leverage against the defensive front.
False start. Right Guard. pic.twitter.com/wMQw20qpsi
— The Dizzle (@Nmartin55) September 21, 2025
That just can't happen. And it's only going to make the backlash against the play continue.
NFL fails immediately to officiate Eagles' Tush Push
Even as someone who's a fan of an Eagles' rival, I've been annoyed by the Tush Push because of its efficacy. At the same time, it's also been a play that I've had no issue with. If a team wanted to do something about it, then they should just simply find out a way to flip the leverage battle in the middle and stop it.
That, however, is impossible when the Eagles are actually gaining an unfair advantage on the play.
Think back to the playoff game against the Commanders last season when Washington was flagged continuously for trying to jump the snap count to get the jump on the Eagles. It happened so many times in a row that the refs issued a warning that they would give Philadelphia the touchdown if it happened again.
But the frustrating part now is that the Eagles are gaining what amounts to the exact same advantage when they're moving early or lining up illegally. They are getting to the point of attack that makes the Tush Push effective before the defense ever has a chance to react. Perhaps the most frustrating part of that is that the defense would surely be flagged if they tried to do something similar to combat the play.
The Tush Push ban failed this offseason, but almost surely won't the next time
One of the linchpins in the Tush Push for the Eagles prior to the last two years, Jason Kelce, said this week on Philadelphia sports radio that he believes the play is going to be banned sooner rather than later. He's starting to see the backlash against it grow even further, and noted that people in power are starting to push back against it now.
At this point, it's hard to envision how that won't be the case either. Even with the NFL asking for emphasis from refs to properly officiate the play, they were unable to do so almost immediately. This was a vote in the offseason regarding the ban that just narrowly didn't pass. As more teams are getting frustrated with what the Eagles are being allowed to do, that could flip quite quickly.
If you're an Eagles fan, then my advice to you would be to enjoy the Tush Push while it's still around. We're now officially reaching a fever pitch about how ethical this play is and the Eagles actually gaining an unfair advantage when they run it. And this season might be the end of line for it if things continue on this trajectory.