Tush Push survives for now an attempt to make the play illegal in the NFL

The quarterback sneak used to great effect by Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles remains a legal play in the NFL – at least for now.

On Tuesday, the NFL team owners tabled a vote on a proposal to ban the play, widely referred to as the Tush Push and the Brotherly Shove, NFL Network and ESPN reported.

It was a previous rule change, which dropped the prohibition against pushing ball-carriers, that allowed the Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to develop the play that uses the other backs to add pushing power to Hurts’ churn into the line in goal-line situations and third- and fourth-and-short snaps.

At the NFL’s annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, the league’s team owners had an agenda of five playing-rules proposals, five bylaw proposals and three resolution proposals to consider.

The tabled proposal came from the Green Bay Packers and aimed to outlaw the Tush Push. The Packers are seeking to amend Rule 12, Section 1, Article 4. Article 4 deals with rules on assisting the runner and interlocking interference.

The Packers’ proposal would add a fourth prohibition under the “no offensive player may” introduction that would read “immediately at the snap, push or throw his body against a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and received the snap to aid him in an attempt to gain yardage.”

The reasons given to support the Packers’ proposal are “player safety” and “pace of play.”

Violation of the rule would carry a 10-yard penalty.

Twenty-four of the 32 team owners would have had to vote for the proposed change for it to pass.

The owners could take up the measure again at their next meeting in May.

In his four seasons as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback, Hurts has scored 54 touchdowns. Thirty-three of those came on 1-yard runs. During that time, the former Alabama standout also has set the NFL record for playoff touchdowns by a quarterback with 10. Half came on 1-yard runs.

Hurts has had four consecutive seasons with at least 10 touchdown runs. No other quarterback has had more than two.