The Philadelphia Eagles‘ Sunday night win over the Detroit Lions came with a familiar storyline. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni added his own message on Sunday by praising Detroit for doing what few teams have managed: limiting the Eagles’ most recognizable short-yardage weapon. His comments shifted attention not only to the performance on the field but also to the broader league-wide discussion about the contentious play.

Sirianni started by giving the Lions credit as the only opponent on Philadelphia’s schedule that voted to ban the Tush Push during the spring NFL owners meetings. “Respect,” Sirianni said, according to Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski’s X post, adding that Detroit was one of 10 teams that did not vote in favor of taking the play out of the league.

The NFL required 24 votes to pass the ban; however, they got just 22. “They did a good job tonight. Obviously, they had a good plan,” Nick Sirianni said afterward.

“They went and tried to find a way to stop it, and they did a good job stopping it tonight. We had a couple that were good, the one in the red zone. But they did a good job on that tonight. So respect to them and credit to them on that.” His comments underlined a rare moment: a team that made the Tush Push look almost ordinary.

The Eagles still managed to score when it counted, punching in their lone touchdown on a one-yard Tush Push by Jalen Hurts. The score helped Philadelphia secure a 16–9 victory, but beyond that goal-line push, Detroit largely interrupted the Eagles’ ability to convert on the play.

“They’re honing in on it,” the quarterback said. “Very, very strict on the guard and the center and how they operate, and they got their eyes on it. So we just got to be as clean as possible and then go out there and find ways to convert it.”

The Tush Push, a modified quarterback sneak in which players line up behind the quarterback and push him forward, has been a source of contention for several years. To its detractors, it’s an obviously unfair advantage.

To its defenders, it’s simply football fundamentals executed at an incredibly high level. Detroit’s usage of the play, combined with their vote to keep it legal, served as a wildly unique backdrop as Nick Sirianni and Campbell found themselves on the same side of a controversy that’s usually defined by disagreement.

Before Nick Sirianni, Dan Campbell shared his take on the infamous play

Dan Campbell made his stance very clear: he doesn’t want the Tush Push taken out of the game. Asked again this week about his thoughts on the play, Campbell explained in depth how important it is to keep the physicality and the tradition of football alive.

“I mean, I don’t… Well, here’s why. I’m a purist, man,” Campbell said. “You take something else out of the game, then we’re taking the next thing out of the game, then you’re taking another thing out of the game, then pretty soon we don’t have pads anymore, and then pretty soon you’re only playing 30 minutes. So that’s why I don’t want to take it out.”

Campbell continued, “A team’s got a niche. They found something. They’re good at it, and it’s for everybody else to stop,” he said. He added the tactic is “unique,” “physical,” and inherently tied to what makes the sport special. To Campbell, taking it away would be a step toward sanitizing the game.

On Sunday night, Detroit backed up their coach’s philosophy. Though they couldn’t score enough to beat the Eagles, they contained Philadelphia’s short-yardage machine better than any opponent this season.