The Atlanta Falcons will be casting their vote this week along with 31 other NFL teams on the proposed rule change from the Green Bay Packers. It’s regarding one of the most talked-about plays in the NFL over the course of the last four or so years. That’s right, the “Tush Push,” a short-yardage play that’s really a quarterback sneak with some…help.
Everyone that watched football knows exactly where this proposed rule change is aiming. We’re looking at you, Philadelphia Eagles. It’s so Philadelphia that some fans in Philly have even adopted the name “The Brotherly Shove.”
If Falcons’ head coach Raheem Morris has anything to say about it, Atlanta will be voting ‘yes’ on the proposed rule change that would ban the Tush Push.
“Forget the tush push,” Morris said back on April 1st when the vote was pushed to this week at the Spring League Meeting. “Nobody wants that thing in play.”
Morris went on to hint that it was about player safety, which is a bit of a straw man argument. It really isn’t any more dangerous than a quarterback sneak and no one is talking about removing that play. The New York Giants somehow managed to get two players injured on one Tush Push attempt back in October of 2023, but other than that any injuries have been minimal.
“I don’t like the play because of what I got to try to do to stop it,” Morris said. “And for me, to be willing to push somebody into another human, potentially, what could possibly happen, I don’t like. I’ve been really vocal about that.”
What’s the actual rule proposal?
Daniel Flick of Sports Illustrated notes that it’s early, but so far “unofficial voting showed teams are split.” The entire document on the amendment to the Tush Push is right here. This will basically stop a runner from being assisted (a.k.a. pushed) by another teammate to help him move the ball forward down the field.
The amendment reads:
“Amend Rule 12, Section 1, Article 4 as follows (new language underlined, deleted language struck
through):
“ARTICLE 4. ASSISTING THE RUNNER AND INTERLOCKING INTERFERENCE. No
offensive player may:
“(a) push or pull a runner in any direction at any time or lift him to his feet;
“(b) use interlocking interference, by grasping a teammate or by using his hands or
arms to encircle the body of a teammate in an effort to block an opponent; or
“(c) push or throw his body against a teammate to aid him in an attempt to obstruct an opponent
or to recover a loose ball.; or
“(d) assist the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him.
Penalty: For assisting the runner, interlocking interference, or illegal use of hands,
arms, or body by the offense: Loss of 10 yards.”
Why do teams hate it?
There is a really easy answer to this question: no one can stop it when the Eagles do it. It’s Occam’s Razor, which states that “if you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one.”
And the simple answer is that teams simply haven’t been able to defend the Eagles when they do it. This isn’t about injuries. In fact, there were no reported injuries in 2024 on the Tush Push. And, since 2022, the Eagles have an 86% conversion rate compared with 76% for the rest of the NFL.
Teams have gone to odd lengths to stop it since any kind of a traditional defense really doesn’t work. In the 2024 NFC Championship Game, Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu tried multiple times to simply time the snap and jump over the offensive line. This led to the referee threatening to award the Eagles a touchdown and it also led to one of the greatest quotes you’ll ever hear from a ref during an NFL game.
“Encroachment, defense No. 93,” Hochuli said. “Washington has been advised that at some point the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again.”
For the Falcons, it doesn’t sound like something they’ll be practicing with Michael Penix, Jr. this offseason. There will be more information on the final vote this week, but for now it seems like we can see how the Falcons are leaning.
“I just fear for the worst on the play,” Morris said. “And I don’t necessarily like the play.”
