The rugby style quarterback sneak play known as the "tush push" has been one of the more polarizing topics in the NFL over the last few seasons thanks to its unorthodox nature and the Philadelphia Eagles' singular masterful execution of the play.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly wants to remove the play from the game, but at the league meetings in Dallas on Wednesday one of the Eagles' biggest rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, revealed they don't mind the play.
"I'm not there," Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, via The Washington Post, when asked about whether or not the league should ban the play. "I think that has aspects to it that have a lot to do with how you do it, technique. I think others can do the same thing."
Other teams have run, but none have come close to the Eagles' efficiency when utilizing the play in which lineman and skill position players barrel into the quarterback to shove him over the first down or end zone line. Philadelphia converts third or fourth downs to first downs or goal line plays to touchdowns while using that play 87.9% (29-33) of the time. The rest of the NFL is barely above a 70% success rate (71.2% to be exact, 52-73).
"Every first down, it's first-and-9," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after a 31-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 in which the team successfully used the play on fourth-and-1 at their own 26. "Knowing that if you get to fourth-and-1, shoot, a lot of faith in that play."
Jones feels like teams should have the right to put their quarterback's body on the line with that play if they so choose. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts -- 6-1, 223 pounds -- holds up while being smashed into the line of scrimmage, but San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy -- also 6-1 and listed at 220 pounds -- did suffer a concussion on the play in a 22-17 loss at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7.
This is what happened to QB Brock Purdy, he got hit during a QB sneak.
— Sideline Sensation (@sidelinesens) October 25, 2023
Will this ban the tush push?
pic.twitter.com/EdHiRBwCFS
"I see they're substituting people other than the main quarterback in there," Jones said of the play, referencing how some teams will use tight ends or running backs instead of the quarterback at times. "We all know on any basis when our quarterback's got it in his hands, he's subject to injury. So I think every team makes its own choice. I don't have a problem with it."
Jones' players echoed a similar tone prior to their 33-13 victory over the Eagles in Week 14.
"It is what it is, man, you know, I ain't in the complaining business," Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said. "I ain't got time to complain. Whatever you put out there in front of me, I'm going to try my damnedest to defeat it."
