The Packers came hunting for blood, not just to stop the Eagles’ Tush Push, but to erase it from the league’s playbook altogether. Their proposal? A “universal” rule tweak that was a full-on war cry for an immediate ban. No phasing out, just bury it in broad daylight. But they fell two votes short. That’s all that saved the most unstoppable play in football. Now that the dark clouds have cleared, the Eagles didn’t just exhale—they trolled. They dropped a highlight compilation on Instagram, captioned: “Throwback to our most recent Tush Push 😉.” A flex. A reminder that the “Brotherly Shove” isn’t just legal—it’s eternal. The war room’s grins now say it all. But make no mistake: this victory was earned in the trenches. Inside those tense league meetings, it was Jeffrey Lurie holding the political line and Jason Kelce giving veteran insights.

Jason Kelce may have retired, basking in the afterglow of a Super Bowl parade, but he’s far from gone. When the Eagles face critical calls, the big man still shows up. No cleats. No pads. Just a confident strut into the war room. So when the NFL franchise teams circled the Tush Push with red ink, claiming it endangered star players, Kelce walked into that franchise meeting like it was 4th-and-1 on the goal line. And once again, he delivered.

In a recent interview posted on Instagram by sportsradio94wip, Kelce peeled back the curtain on how the infamous play survived. The video is titled “The man who saved the Tush Push, Jason Kelce, explained how he and Jeffrey Lurie got the job done on today’s Morning Show!” He didn’t mince words. “But I think that… the reality is… a lot of this proposal was there because of the push and because of the success that the Philadelphia Eagles had. And I think that it feels a little bit like it’s an attack on your organisation and what you guys are doing well.” That wasn’t just a defense of a play—it was a shot across the bow for every team trying to legislate away Philly’s edge.

After all, the Eagles had just steamrolled their way to a 14-3 record, claimed the NFC East crown, and punched a ticket to Super Bowl LIX. They stomped the Commanders 55-23 in the NFC Championship. Then dropped 40 points on Mahomes and the Chiefs in a beatdown that ended their reign. So yeah, there was momentum. And team owner Jeffrey Lurie wasn’t going to let some backroom vote derail it.

Lurie spoke for nearly an hour, laying out his case like it was a two-minute drill. According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, he ended with a line no one saw coming. The Tush Push, he said, was “like a wet dream for a teenage boy”—a play so dominant the only way to stop it was to ban it. Kelce backed him up. “He went very strong, stronger than I talked about… the day we kind of met for breakfast and kind of had a plan… And he was even more impassioned in the room.” 

Kelce didn’t dive into all the politics. But he knew what mattered. It was the safety of the players highlighted as the main concern, and Jeffery tackled the issue head-on. “Jeffrey’s main thing was really to talk about the safety issues of the play. And one of the reasons that he thinks that’s not a concern with this play in particular… why it might be more safe than potentially other plays.” A calm head. A passionate voice. And a team that refused to let greatness be outlawed.

But now that the board meetings and the loud discussions are over, Eagles are ready to share their true thoughts on the sneak ban.

Saquon Barkley on tush push: “Everybody can do it”

Saquon Barkley knows the play, having joined the Eagles locker room in 2024. Barkley hit the topic head-on during an appearance on the Exciting Mics podcast with teammates Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship.

“I think it’s soft, to be honest,” Barkley said of the pushback on the play. “Everybody can do it. It’s not a play that we only can do. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines, and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That’s not our fault.” The man didn’t flinch. He ran straight at the critics like it was 4th-and-inches. And he’s not wrong—this isn’t a cheat code, it’s just old-school smashmouth football with a new twist.

Barkley didn’t stop there. He called out the rest of the league for their weak attempts to copy the Eagles’ success. “Josh Allen is super big, they’re not successful with it,” he said. “Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all-time, they’re not successful with it. So it’s not something that everyone can’t do. Them trying to eliminate it, I think that’s kind of lame.” Translation? If you can’t stop it, just get better at it.

When the owners met to vote, 10 teams backed the tush push—including the Eagles. But Barkley knew where the opposition was coming from. “And the teams that want to get rid of it are the teams that gotta see us two or three times a year,” he said. While he didn’t name-drop any team, his message was clear. Philly’s success became the reason for this move target. He even tossed in a parting shot about league priorities: “Everybody can do it, there’s no health issue, and why we talking about the tush push, let’s make sure everybody’s contract is guaranteed.” That’s Barkley—blunt, honest, and never afraid to lower the shoulder.