The Philadelphia Eagles’ famed ‘tush push’ survived the Green Bay Packers’ off-season bid to ban the controversial goal-line play.
Thursday’s game against the rival New York Giants, however, may have finally turned public opinion against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Sitting on the Giants’ 1-yard line, the Eagles ran the play four consecutive times in the second quarter – getting away with a false start along the way – before quarterback Jalen Hurts ultimately scored. The point after gave Philadelphia a 17-13 lead, which they’d relinquish on the ensuing possession.
A beefier version of the classic quarterback draw, the ‘Brotherly Shove,’ as it is also known, relies on the offensive line crowding in around the ball at the line of scrimmage. When the ball is snapped, the backfield pushes behind the quarterback as the offensive lineman converge on a single point of attack, thereby driving a wedge through the defense that allows the quarterback to gain whatever short yardage is needed.
Critics have slammed the play for over safety concerns and an unusually high success rate. The Packers even submitted a doomed proposal to ban it altogether last February.
But even though the measure failed to gain approval, criticism of the tush push has increased in 2025 as officials have struggled to properly officiate the play – something fans, including Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, were quick to point out on Thursday.
Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles crosses the goal line for a touchdown on a tush push
Hurts drops the football in the end zone after surviving another tush push from the 1-yard line
‘This is why tush push needs to be banned,’ Portnoy wrote on X. ‘Football is supposed to be entertainment. This ruins the game. No different than changing pass interference rules for more scoring. Nobody wants to watch this s***.’
‘Ah yes!’ one critic wrote alongside video showing Eagles right guard Tyler Steen in the neutral zone as the ball is snapped. ‘The Tush Push False Start that doesn’t get called!’
‘Damn, I’ve been flipped officially,’ another added. ‘The Tush Push f***in stinks.’
And it wasn’t just fans complaining. New Packers star Micah Parsons slammed the play on X, writing: ‘This is not football!’
New Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons slammed the tush push on X
Likewise, Super Bowl winner and former Giants left tackle Jumbo Elliott also took a swipe at the tush push.
‘Tush Push,’ he wrote. ‘Sounds ridiculous. Looks ridiculous. Is ridiculous. Run a football play not a scrum.’
Since 2022, the tush push has a league-wide success rate of around 85 percent, ESPN reported in September.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris has been the most vocal critic of the play among NFL coaches.
‘There’s just no other play in our game where you can absolutely get behind somebody and push them,’ Morris said in September. ‘I never really understood it, why that was legal. So, I’ve definitely been one of those guys voting against that.’
