The NFL decided it wouldn’t eliminate the Philadelphia Eagles’ infamous “Tush Push” play last offseason. After seeing what happened in the early fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game, conversations about changing it are almost certainly likely to come back.
With the Eagles in position for their customary short-yardage play, the Commanders kept trying to beat the snap count on the Tush Push and stop Hurts before he got momentum from the Philadelphia interior offensive line. The issue is that they never actually beat the snap count and kept jumping offside, while the Eagles broke out a relatively new wrinkle and started using a hard count (which feels especially egregious).
This led to the officiating crew eventually saying it would simply reward the Eagles with a touchdown if the Commanders kept jumping offsides.
Given that the Commanders were seemingly only trying to beat the snap — one of the likely only ways the Tush Push could be stopped — instead of intentionally jumping offside, it’s unclear what else Washington could do in the key sequence of a conference championship game.
This will magnify the inherent fairness of rugby-style play in a professional football game.
Frankie Luvu FLEW above the Eagles’ offensive line lmao pic.twitter.com/qbNNPvgNn6
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 26, 2025
Look, this happened in the third-biggest pro football game of the season with everyone watching. Whether or not you agree that the Tush Push should be banned, such tomfoolery happening under that giant spotlight virtually guarantees that the NFL will reevaluate the play with its competition committee in the offseason.
If I were the Eagles, I’d ensure I ran the “Tush Push” as much as possible during Super Bowl 59. Just in case. You never know.
