When the Philadelphia Eagles got down to the 1-yard line in the first quarter of Super Bowl LIX, everyone knew which play was coming next. Despite the Kansas City Chiefs' best efforts, the touchdown was inevitable. Philadelphia’s variation of the quarterback sneak, dubbed the Brotherly Shove or tush push, has been one of the most unstoppable —and controversial — plays in the league.
After the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship, teams seemed more determined than ever to have the play removed from the league. Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, told reporters at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine that a team anonymously submitted a rule proposal to ban the “tush push” sneak. Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confessed on Tuesday to submitting the proposal.
Other than the Eagles, only the Buffalo Bills have managed to adopt the play successfully. Philadelphia and Buffalo scored a touchdown or converted a touchdown on 87 percent of their attempts using the play, while the rest of the league has been successful only 71 percent of the time, per ESPN Research.
Sean McDermott is lobbying for “tush push” ban even if it hurts the Bills
Considering Buffalo’s success with the play, Bills head coach Sean McDermott’s comments on Monday come as a bit of a surprise.
"To me, there's always been an injury risk with that play, and I've expressed that opinion for the last couple of years or so when it really started to come into play the way it's being used, especially a year ago," McDermott said, according to ESPN. "So, I just feel like, player safety and the health and safety of our players has to be at the top of our game, which it is. It's just that play to me has always been ... or the way that the techniques that are used with that play, to me have been potentially contrary to the health and safety of the players. And so again, you have to go back though in fairness to the injury data on the play, but I just think the optics of it, I'm not in love with."
The inherent safety risks with the play haven’t stopped McDermott from calling the play in key situations. The Bills ran the sneak multiple times during their 32-29 loss in the AFC Championship Game, including on critical fourth-down situations. Banning the play would only hurt Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s chances of converting in those situations.
But, of course, McDermott clarified that there’s nothing wrong with his version of the sneak. The coach claimed that the Bills “do it a little bit different than other teams,” and that his concern with the play has to do with “one team in particular,” which “does it a certain way.”
That team, of course, would be Philadelphia, who uses offensive players to push quarterback Jalen Hurts past the line. Opinions on the play vary significantly — some claim it provides an unfair competitive advantage, some cite injury risks and others believe teams shouldn’t be punished for being able to execute the play to perfection.
Ultimately, the play will likely be banned. Vincent told reporters the “tush push” was in the same conversation as the “hip-drop tackle” a couple of years ago. The league opted to delay the “tush push” conversation and focus on the hip-drop tackle, which is now banned.
NFL owners will gather next month for the annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., where they will review proposals. If the proposal goes to a vote, 75 percent of the owners would need to vote in favor of the rule for it to pass.