NFL Considering Ban on Tush Push Play Ahead of Super Bowl 59

NFL fans who want the practically unstoppable tush push play banned might get their wish in the not-so-distant future.

The Philadelphia Eagles have successfully run the tush push play for quarterback Jalen Hurts, a trend that started during the 2022 season. The play, which has been copied by other NFL teams, consists of one or two players "pushing" the quarterback forward during a QB sneak.

If executed correctly (and it's pretty hard to mess up), the play is borderline unstoppable. In 2022 alone, the Eagles were successful on 92.6 percent of the tush push attempts.

Per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, Fox NFL rules analyst and former Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira believes that the league could look at banning the play after what transpired in the Eagles-Washington Commanders NFC Championship Game:

"I think it will be a conversation...I think with the ugliness of that, they'll take a further look at it...To think that any play in a game led to what a referee could do, which is actually award a score without a play. I mean when you get to that -- called a 'palpably unfair act,' which I'd been waiting for 15 years to say on air. I was so excited. I almost spit it out right away. But I think with the ugliness of that, they'll take a further look at it. But again, it's going to evolve around injury data. If there's been injuries from it, there is a chance that it could get (eliminated). I think it'll continue being looked at, (and) maybe at somewhere down the road making a change."

With 13 minutes left in the NFC Championship Game, the Commanders committed three encroachment penalties in a row with the Eagles lining up for a tush push. After the third foul, head official Shawn Hochuli announced that the Commanders were warned that the Eagles could be awarded a touchdown "if this type of behavior happens again" (the palpably unfair act rule).

Super Bowl 59 is just two days away, and you can bet the Eagles will run the tush push on multiple occasions as they look to avenge the heartbreaking loss against Kansas City in SB 57.

The only fans who would oppose the tush push ban would be Eagles supporters. Then again, the regular quarterback sneak is awfully difficult to stop on its own.

It's frustrating for opposing defenses when you know the odds of getting a stop on a tush push are below 10 percent. So yes, most fans would surely be thrilled if the league wound up banning it.