Last offseason, there was a major push for the tush push, a play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles. The reason the teams pushed for the ban was safety, which, although not supported by the data, they were worried about in the future. Also, the refereeing during the play seemed extremely inconsistent. In the end, there were not enough votes to ban the play, and we entered another season with teams using it around the league.
Yet again, the penalties being called or completely missed during the tush push play were a massive issue. We even saw this nearly every time the New Orleans Saints ran the play. So, going into the offseason, there was a decent chance the tush push would have been considered for a ban, but apparently, that was completely wrong. Per Adam Schefter, no team proposed the tush push ban.
As I mentioned, this was definitely a surprising move by the league. The tush push is still an issue when it is used, and maybe this came down to the Eagles’ offense not having a good season. Maybe if they did, the ban would have been proposed.
Let’s see if the Saints try the play again in 2026.