NFL owners to decide fate of 'tush push'

NFL owners this week could decide whether the 'tush push' belongs in the game.

NFL owners are holding a three-day spring meeting this week in Minnesota, where two of the most-anticipated changes involve a proposal to ban the quarterback-sneak play that has become wildly successful for the Philadelphia Eagles, in particular, and whether to allow NFL players to compete in flag football during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The latter was approved Tuesday.

Since 2022, the Eagles have converted on reportedly 90% of short-yardage situations by modifying the typical quarterback sneak by stationing multiple teammates behind quarterback Jalen Hurts to push him forward at the snap. While the so-called tush push is not used exclusively by the Eagles, it was integral to their winning last season's Super Bowl.

Earlier this offseason, the Green Bay Packers emerged as the most vocal opponents of the play, creating a proposal that would "prohibit any offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap."

In February, Packers president Mark Murphy wrote bluntly on the team’s website that the play was "bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of the runner." Murphy added that "there is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less." (The Packers were 0-2 against Philadelphia last season.)