The Philadelphia Eagles have more or less perfected the Tush Push. And now, that once-infamous play is slowly spreading across the league. One of the teams leaning into it lately is the Pittsburgh Steelers. But unlike Philly, Pittsburgh runs it a bit differently. The Eagles execute the play with Jalen Hurts under center, which tracks, since it’s basically a powered-up QB sneak.

In Pittsburgh, though, Aaron Rodgers is mostly a spectator. He hangs back while someone else takes the push. And when DK Metcalf was asked about Rodgers’ laid-back stance during the play, he summed it up with a pretty funny response, saying:

“He’s a goofy. I’m just looking for the TV copy, just looks him to do something crazy. He’s always back there being a character.”

The moment came during the Steelers’ Monday Night Football matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 15. It was the second quarter, Pittsburgh was sitting at the one-yard line in Miami territory, and all they needed was a final shove into the end zone. But instead of throwing 42-year-old Rodgers into the pile, the Steelers handed the job to Connor Heyward, with Rodgers chilling in the background with his hands in his pockets.

Behind Heyward was 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington, doing the actual pushing as Pittsburgh powered its way toward the goal line. Almost immediately, social media lit up. Fans started poking fun at Rodgers posing behind the play like a field general surveying the chaos. But the decision itself makes a lot of sense.

In Philly, Hurts is young, durable, and built for that kind of contact. That’s why the Eagles are comfortable running the Tush Push with their quarterback. Rodgers, on the other hand, is 42 and has dealt with more than his share of injuries over the years. Asking him to dive into a goal-line scrum is just inviting trouble. Which naturally leads to the next question: if he’s not pushing, why is he even out there? And once again, context matters.

The biggest reason is the threat of a fake. Keeping Rodgers on the field forces the defense to respect the possibility of him pulling the ball back and firing a quick pass downfield. Even if he doesn’t touch the ball, his presence alone changes how the defense lines up. So when you put it all together, Metcalf’s comment about Rodgers just relaxing during the Tush Push is funny. But it also explains exactly why the Steelers do it this way. And yes, that’s why their version of the infamous play keeps working.

Aaron Rodgers explains why he stands behind during the Tush Push

When the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers in June, they probably didn’t picture him spending third-and-fourth downs standing behind a pile instead of inside it. But if you ask Rodgers, he’ll tell you that when something is working, there’s no real reason to mess with it.

“You never know. As long as we’re going to keep sneaking it, I’m hopefully going to keep standing back there and signaling first down,” he said.

That doesn’t sound like exaggeration. Through 15 weeks, the Steelers have gone to the Tush Push 11 times, and Rodgers hasn’t been directly involved in a single one. Instead, Heyward has handled the dirty work, converting eight first downs on ten tries. Still, many haven’t loved seeing Rodgers play the role of bystander, while others have questioned the math of the play altogether. On paper, it looks simple: 10 blockers versus 11 defenders. But Rodgers says that framing misses the point.

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“I will say it’s not a 10 on 11 play,” he said. “I’ve seen that in places, ‘Oh, it’s 10 on 11, what’s the quarterback doing back there just standing with his hands on his hips?’ There’s a lot of guys who aren’t involved on the play. Usually, the deep safety and the guys on the edges have absolutely zero impact on the play.”

That explanation lines up with what actually shows up on tape. On the Steelers’ tush push against Miami, the free safety and outside corners were basically spectators, too. They’re there for structure, not resistance. So while it might look odd seeing Rodgers hanging back, arms loose, surveying the chaos, there’s real logic behind it. The Steelers protect their 42-year-old quarterback, keep the threat of a fake alive, and still move the chains.