The NFL owners’ meeting reached a significant and controversial decision on Wednesday. During the league’s annual spring meeting, officials chose not to implement a ban on the tush push play. It was a move that sparked considerable debate among fans, analysts, and players alike. This decision, seen by many as favoring tradition over player safety concerns, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing conversation about the physicality and evolving nature of the game. Unsurprisingly, it has already begun to draw sharp criticism and backlash, not only toward the league itself but also personally targeting NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose leadership and judgment are now under renewed scrutiny.

It was said that the NFL commissioner was against the tush push. Before the meeting, it was also reported by many media representatives that if Goodell has an opinion on something and he wants to make a change in it, the league ends up making those changes. We have seen that in the case of an increasing number of international games. The NFL will have seven international games this season.

So, in case of tush push also, reportedly, he was trying to make it a banned practice. But NFL owners defied Goodell. That’s why former NFL legend Mark Schlereth took a jab at Roger Goodell. Mark Schlereth was on the Rich Eisen show on Wednesday. As an offensive guard, he could easily describe what are the advantages and disadvantages of the tush push. He explained the same and also gave an opinion on it. He literally pummeled the double standards of the top NFL official. 

Mark Schlereth started, “It truly is a play which completely leans into the benefit of the offense and really puts the defense in an impossible position.” He also added, “And usually, if that rule were the other way around, if the defense had an unbelievable advantage and put the offense in an impossible position, the rule would be changed. Because this is a league that predicates itself on creating offense.” And to a larger extent, the Eagles’ offense, for example, gets an advantage of that fraction of a second to fake or push. It, to a greater percentage, depends upon the offensive guys’ decision, which is the QB and the offensive players behind him. 

Lastly, the legendary guard also mentioned, “And so if the shoe were on the other foot, it would have been voted out 100%. So, you know, it’s just one of those things that life ain’t fair. Get used to it.” He subtly sent a message to those 22 NFL teams that they need to work on defense. There is also one team which is actively finding an answer to tush push. Let’s dive in to know more about that team and the revocation of tush push. 

Roger Goodell couldn’t stop the revocation of the Eagles’ signature play 

It was Tuesday when NFL reporter Jane Slater reported that the NFL owners were banning the tush push. But in 24 hours, the whole picture changed. The NFL owners couldn’t cross the required voter turnout. The needed votes to ban the tush push were 24. But they came short of two votes. The Packers had earlier proposed the ban in the NFL owners’ Palm Beach meeting. 

You must be thinking which are the 9 teams, excluding the Eagles, did not vote for the ban. Along with Jalen Hurts‘ Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Along with these were the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans who were against the ban. Spoiler: The reason is simple. 

The ‘partially true’ reason they won’t play against the Eagles in 2025. Yes, these nine NFL teams are not scheduled to play against the Eagles in 2025. This logic is partially true because two of them could get into a head-to-head fight with the Eagles in the 2025 playoffs, provided both teams enter the postseason.

The teams that really wanted the tush push ban were the Rams, the Bills, the Falcons, and more. Surprisingly, according to ESPN data, the Bills seem 2nd in gaining yards or having benefit after the Eagles. The main reasons cited were players’ health and injury, as there is a potentially high chance of getting injured. However, no player has been injured during the tush push.

And now, to talk about the NFL team finding a defensive solution to the run push is Dan Quinn‘s Washington Commanders. “I’m going to keep digging as hard as I can to make sure we find ways to defend [the Tush Push] better. We’re going to compete to see if we can stop it.” This is what Quinn said while responding to tush push ban. Let’s see how much any team gets successful in restricting the Eagles from getting advantage from tush push.