The “Tush Push” is a Joke, and It’s Time for the NFL to Ban This Pathetic Excuse for a Football Play
Let’s not mince words here, folks. What we saw in the Super Bowl on February 9th wasn’t just a loss for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a loss for real, hard-nosed football. The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t out-scheme or out-play our guys in the biggest moments. They just lined up, fell forward, and let their offensive line play rugby for a yard or two. It’s a disgrace to the game, and the NFL needs to wake up and ban the “Tush Push” before it ruins the sport we love.
I know what you’re thinking. “It’s just one play!” Is it, though? Or is it an un-football, unstoppable gimmick that takes all the drama and skill out of the most critical situations in a game? Fourth and one on the fifty? No need for a gutsy play call from Andy Reid or a moment of magic from Patrick Mahomes. Just line everyone up, have the quarterback fall forward, and let 300-pound linemen shove him from behind. It’s a glorified scrum, not a football play.
And don’t give me this nonsense about how it’s just “good blocking.” It’s an exploitation of the rules, plain and simple. For decades, pushing a runner from behind was illegal. Why? Because it turns a game of skill, speed, and strategy into a simple contest of mass. The NFL brought it back, and now we have this garbage play that the Eagles have perfected into a nearly automatic conversion. How is that good for the league? How is that entertaining? As one scathing article rightly pointed out, the Eagles-Chiefs game is all the evidence the league should need to get rid of it for good.
Of course, you’ve got guys like Jason Kelce, who just retired from the Eagles, defending it. He recently posted, “Personally I think this play adds a ton to the game of football…Punting the ball and giving it to your opponent is way softer than fighting over a yard and pushing against each other.” You can read his full take here. With all due respect to a great player, what else is he going to say? His team built its short-yardage identity around this one cheap trick. Of course he loves it! It made his job easier. But making the game easier isn’t what football is about. It’s about challenge. It’s about execution under pressure. The “Tush Push” removes all of that.
It’s Not Football, It’s a Loophole
Think about the classic goal-line stand. The tension, the drama, the one-on-one battles in the trenches. That’s what makes this sport great. The “Tush Push” neuters all of that. There’s no battle. It’s just a pile of bodies moving forward. The defense has virtually no chance to stop it without risking a penalty. It’s a broken play, and it’s making a mockery of short-yardage situations.
The Chiefs dynasty isn’t built on gimmicks. It’s built on the arm of Patrick Mahomes, the hands of Travis Kelce, the mind of Andy Reid, and the grit of a defense that knows how to make a stop when it counts. To lose a championship because the other team found a loophole in the rulebook feels cheap. It feels wrong. And it’s something the NFL Competition Committee needs to address this offseason.
The solution is simple: bring back the rule that forbids offensive players from pushing the ball carrier forward. Let’s get back to real football, where a yard is earned, not given. Let’s restore the sanctity of the goal-line stand. Let’s ban the “Tush Push” and never speak of this embarrassing chapter in NFL history again. The integrity of the game depends on it.
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