The Philadelphia Eagles recently made headlines by applying for a trademark for the term “Brotherly Shove.” This move has brought attention back to the controversial quarterback push play, also known as the tush push.
Last season, the Eagles executed this play with remarkable success.
However, the question remains: will this play continue to be legal beyond this season?
The quarterback push play involves pushing the quarterback from behind to gain crucial yardage, primarily in short-yardage situations.
The Eagles have mastered this tactic, converting 37 out of 41 attempts last season.
The play itself became legal in the NFL back in 2005 when the league eliminated a rule prohibiting offensive player pushing.
No team has implemented the quarterback push play as effectively as the Philadelphia Eagles.
Led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, they have relied on players like tight end Dallas Goedert, running back D’Andre Swift, and wide receiver A.J. Brown to execute the push.
So far, opposing defenses have struggled to find a consistent solution to stop this play.
While the Eagles have had tremendous success, some critics have raised concerns about the safety of the quarterback push play.
During a game between the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks, the Giants attempted the push play with quarterback Daniel Jones.
Unfortunately, both the center, John Michael Schmitz, and tight end Daniel Bellinger suffered injuries on that play.
Given the safety concerns and the injuries incurred, the Competition Committee has revisited the quarterback push play during the offseason.
Competition Committee continues to look at quarterback push play. https://t.co/CfFHyACr4W
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 18, 2023
However, they did not propose a rule change to ban it. Despite this, the league continues to monitor the play closely, indicating that a ban or adjustment may still be on the table.
“There’ll be more data. Whether there’s injuries or not, there will be success rates; there will be teams that will have an opinion,” McKay said, via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. “Last year, we did talk about it a lot. There were enough teams to say it’s one year; let’s see it, and leave it alone. So we did, and I’m sure it’ll be back again. But I just don’t want to get in the business of predicting because I really don’t know what the outcome will be. I do know it will be talked about.”
