Part of the NFL offseason each season is dedicated to rule changes and alterations, presumably installed to make the game more enjoyable for fans and more fair for the players on the field. To that end, ahead of the NFL combine this week the league's executive vice president of operations Troy Vincent revealed on Monday that there was one anonymous team who submitted a proposal to ban the "tush push."
It's a favored strategy of the Philadelphia Eagles that involves pushing the quarterback forward in short-yardage situations and one that has flummoxed the rest of the NFL. Many teams have tried and failed to replicate Philly's success over the last few years and no defense has found a way to consistently stop the play. Both of those factors are apparently so frustrating that a team proposed to ban it altogether.
It didn't take long to find out which team that was: the Green Bay Packers. And it just so happens team president and CEO Mark Murphy made his feelings on the play publicly known during an online Q&A with fans earlier this month. Murphy's comments have begun to recirculate in light of the news that he wants to get the tush push out of the game entirely.
"I am not a fan of this play," Murphy said on February 1. "There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less. The series of plays with the Commanders jumping offsides in the NFC Championship Game to try to stop the play was ridiculous. The referee even threatened to give the Eagles an automatic touchdown if the Commanders did not stop it. I would like to see the league prohibit pushing or aiding the runner (QB) on this play.
"There used to be a rule prohibiting this, but it is no longer enforced because I believe it was thought to be too hard for the officials to see. The play is bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of the runner. This would bring back the traditional QB sneak. That worked pretty well for Bart Starr and the Packers in the Ice Bowl."
Packers want the tush push banned
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 24, 2025
now the ban has been officially proposed
Packers President’s comments on reasons to ban the tush push: pic.twitter.com/vQ5Tdl4Oiu
While the "if it was good enough for our ancestors it's good enough for us" argument is tried and true, fans weren't totally buying it as Murphy's quotes made the rounds.
The classic “there is no skill involved”.
— Jimmy Scoops (@jimkryjer) February 24, 2025
If it was so easy, then everyone would be able to perform the Tush Push.
But, they can’t.
If teams want the Eagles to stop calling the Tush Push, then maybe they should try stopping it during the game.
Let Mark Murphy know if Josh Jacobs or AJ Dillon just learn how to take a snap they can easily replicate it…
— NBA Slime (@TerryFranconia) February 24, 2025
Apparently the tush-push ban proposal is coming from the Packers president, who said there "is no skill" involved in the play.
— CogginToboggan (@CogginToboggan) February 24, 2025
If that was true, wouldn't the Bills have been able to run it to perfection the 9000 times they tried it against the Chiefs in the AFC championship? pic.twitter.com/9iBt96PaGG
Packers president Mark Murphy saying that there is no skill involved with a play that only one of the 32 teams in the NFL can execute consistently at a high level is absurd.
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) February 24, 2025
The Eagles would just do the same technique without the push and it will work lol. This is so childish
— Joel Bryant - HighSchoolOT 🏈 (@JoelBryantHSOT) February 24, 2025
If there’s no skill involved then why can’t every single team execute the play at a high level? Sounds like the Packers are a bit salty they can’t figure out how to defend or execute the play
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) February 24, 2025
It would seem Murphy doesn't believe the equally tried-and-true adage of "if you don't like it, stop it" applies here.
The general sentiment of the fans does not matter in this instance, however. The NFL's rules committee will be determining the fate of the tush push in regards to Murphy's proposal. The final decision will be announced sometime in the next few months. Then Murphy will learn if his efforts to push the play out proved successful.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Packers President's Tush Push Comments Recirculate After Ban Proposal.
