The Green Bay Packers infamously were the organization pushing to ban the tush push, the Philadelphia Eagles' seemingly unstoppable goal-line play, this offseason. Such a ban was not approved, at least not yet, but it has continued the ongoing conversation about taking that tool from the Eagles' toolbox. Saquon Barkley, however, fired back at the Packers and anyone wanting the play banned, basically telling anyone who feels that way to kick rocks.
"If you don't like it, get better at stopping it," Barkley said, via ESPN's Jayson Buford. "It's not like a play that we only do. Everyone tries it, we're just super successful at it." Buford also described the Eagles star running back as being "put off" by any controversy or teams upset about the tush push.
Packers fans should hate every part of that, though. It feels like a direct shot at them, the team that was pushing most vocally for the play to be banned, and a player from the Eagles — much less one of the stars on the offense — looking at Green Bay and their fans directly in the face and all but laughing in it.
Packers fans should feel slighted after Saquon Barkley's tush push comments
It's one thing for the NFL to table discussions about the Packers' ploy to have the tush push banned. It's another thing entirely for an Eagles player, especially one with the platform and notoriety of Barkley, to then take their push for fair play and essentially tell anyone who thinks differently that they're just not good enough, not that the play creates an unfair advantage.
To be sure, the discussion about banning the tush push is a nuanced one. If player safety is actually in question, then yes, there should be talk of it being moved out of the NFL. However, if the only leg to stand on is that the Eagles do it and no one can stop it, then that's not a viable reason for a play to be banned entirely. The actuality of where teams wanting the play out of the NFL stand is likely somewhere in the gray area in between.
That, however, is the lack of nuance in Barkley's points that should get under the skin of Packers fans. Barkley, despite only having been in Philadelphia for a season, is speaking from a position of privilege. No, it's not just because he's on a team that runs the tush push most effectively; he's also the team that won a Super Bowl this past season. It's easy to sit on the throne and look down on other teams, but that doesn't mean the other teams have to like it or sit well with that approach.
Who knows where the Packers protest of the tush push ultimately ends. What does feel certain after this, though, is that Barkley probably won't receive a warm welcome at Lambeau Field when the Eagles visit in the 2025 season.