During the 2025 NFL offseason, the league examined the Philadelphia Eagles’ debated “tush push” maneuver, a tactic the reigning Super Bowl winners deploy in almost every matchup—often on several occasions within a single game—involving quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The strategy involves crowding the line of scrimmage, positioning two teammates directly behind Hurts while the interior guards push forward to open a path, enabling Hurts to be propelled beyond the marker for a fresh set of downs or a score in goal-to-go scenarios.
Although NFL team owners decided to retain the play during the previous offseason, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones anticipates that the ongoing disputes about it could prompt a future ballot, which might result in its the play being banned.
“Only my opinion, but I think yes, it will be,” Jones said via Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “And it has to do with, while the merits of it have really been the merits of the play and the concerns have been addressed, you still see that it’s one that probably has enough criticism that it will come up again. I think it probably will come up for a vote.”
In the prior offseason’s session, 22 out of 32 NFL franchises (68.75%) supported scrapping the play. Yet, a 75% majority is necessary to outlaw it, requiring a shift of at least two additional ballots to alter the regulation.
A significant portion of the debate centers on the two central guards initiating movement prior to the snap—a violation that officials seldom penalize. Nevertheless, the Eagles did receive a false start flag for this during their Week 7 victory against the Minnesota Vikings.
Regardless of whether the play stays permitted or eventually gets outlawed, discussions will persist regarding its enforcement. The NFL would have to define precisely what qualifies as an acceptable quarterback plunge and what violates the rules.
