Saquon Barkley throws shade at Packers over Tush Push ban efforts

The Philadelphia Eagles appeared unstoppable at times during the 2024 season with a potent offense featuring Saquon Barkley in his first year with the team. The veteran running back put together one of the greatest rushing seasons in football history en route to being named Offensive Player of the Year and the Eagles went on to dominate the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

The team’s secret weapon was, of course, the so-called Tush Push (although, why that won out over “Brotherly Shove” remains a mystery). The play was virtually unstoppable when run by the Eagles. It was so effective in fact that a proposal for the NFL competition committee to ban the play was introduced right after the season ended.

As expected, Eagles players and coaches didn’t appreciate this effort to do away with a play that the team had mastered. And Barkley let his feelings on the subject be known.

“If you don't like it, get better at stopping it… It's not like a play that we only do. Everyone tries it, we're just super successful at it,” Barkley noted, per Jayson Buford of ESPN.

Will the Eagles be pushing tush in 2025?

It was eventually revealed that the Green Bay Packers were the team attempting to get the Eagles' Tush Push banned. Packers president Mark Murphy has been outspoken about the play in the past, claiming “There’s no skill involved” in the rugby-style pileup.

Yet despite similar claims from other NFL executives and analysts, the Eagles have managed to use this play to absolutely dominate short yardage situations, thereby controlling games. No other team has come close to Philadelphia’s success rate in pushing tush.

Some view the Packers’ gripe with the play as sour grapes. But Green Bay insists it's motivated by player safety, as the team claims the Tush Push is dangerous and leads to injuries – an assertion on which the Eagles have pushed back.

Of course the Packers aren’t the only team that would like to see the play banned. Adam Schefter reported that there were already 16 teams willing to vote to outlaw the Tush Push. The league needs 24 teams on board to make the ban official.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott supports banning the play. While this comes as a surprise considering the Bills made liberal use of the push last season, McDermott also cited player safety as the driving factor behind his stance.