Eagles tush push controversy, explained: Why NFL is cracking down on false starts as cries for rule change intensify

Eagles tush push controversy, explained: Why NFL is cracking down on false starts as cries for rule change intensify originally appeared on The Sporting News

Following the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 2 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL had a conversation with its officiating crews.

The game was mired in controversy because replays showed that the majority of the time when the Eagles ran their infamous tush push, the offensive line would jump early, and players from both teams lined up in the neutral zone.

The NFL responded to this happening in such a high-profile game by releasing a statement that the Eagles should have been called for a false start on the last tush push they ran, which sealed the win for Philly. The league urged its officiating crews to look out for this and call the play more harshly. 

There was speculation that this could spell the end of the formation for the Eagles; however, early on in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, they ran the tush push multiple times with no flags from the referees. 

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Here is more on the tush push, its controversy and how the NFL failed to crack down on the formation.

What is the tush push?

The tush push is a spin-off of the quarterback sneak. The QB goes under center, and rather than trying to dive one way or another around his center, in this formation, the quarterback is pushed from behind by two teammates, trying to gain more yardage.

It is a controversial play because the Eagles have nearly perfected it, and are successful with it way more than the other teams in the league. Also, with the offensive and defensive line slamming into each other, there is an injury concern.

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Eagles tush push false starts

The formation of the tush push is highly criticized. There are seven players on the offensive line with the quarterback being the eighth under center. Then, he has two teammates behind him who run forward and shove him forward, trying to pick up as much yardage as possible. The lone other player is usually a few feet off the line to make it seem like the Eagles could pivot and pass to the wideout running a route.

While the play was controversial, it didn't become how clear until the Eagles beat the Chiefs. Looking at replays, it was blatant that players from both sides were lined up in the neutral zone, and more times than not, the offensive line was jumping early, gaining leverage.

I am not a @Chiefs or @Eagles fan but this was very clearly s false start. @NFL
pic.twitter.com/3MO0DY62T4

— Ron Swanson (@RonSwanson1984) September 14, 2025

The clip above is the play that caused the NFL to say that it should have been a false start. The league instructed its officiating crew to crack down on the formation. The Eagles took on the Rams in Week 3, their first game since the notice. Below is one of their first tush push attempts of the game, and no flag was thrown.

The #Eagles ran a tush-push.

It looks like an OL (#56) jumped early.

No flag was thrown.

This topic ain't ending.pic.twitter.com/oVYK2NgWUh

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 21, 2025

The Eagles being called out for false starts on the play is nothing new to the 2025 season.

That is a blatant false start on the Eagles, another miss by the referees pic.twitter.com/umxs8V5qtn

— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 1, 2024

Here is another, this one from the 2023 season.

The refs did not call a false start here during OT of #Eagles vs. #Commanders 🤔

The Tush Push on this play led to a 1st down and the game-winning FG for the Eagles.

Thoughts?pic.twitter.com/lOxbGsvetx

— PFSN (@PFSN365) October 1, 2023

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Eagles tush push success rate

On third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations, non-tush push plays have a 67% success rate across the league since 2022. In that same time span and situations, the tush push has an 84.8% success rate across the league. 

Philadelphia is the best team at running the tush push, and they have a 91.3% success rate when running the play over the last three seasons. 

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Is the tush push banned?

No, the tush push hasn't been banned. It was brought to a vote at league meetings earlier this year, but it didn't pass. When the NFL said that it would crack down on the false starts, there was a thought that this could act as a pseudo-ban, but that hasn't been the case so far. 

The Green Bay Packers introduced the vote to ban the play. Team president Mark Murphy has been outspoken about the play, saying it is "almost an automatic first down" that lacks skill and is bad for the game. For the vote to pass, 24 teams needed to vote to ban it, and only 22 did. 

FOX's rules analyst Dean Blandino said that he was done with the play since "it's a hard play to officiate." This is an important distinction because if the referees feel they can't officiate the play correctly, it could be banned as a result. 

"I am done with the tush push guys. It's a hard play to officiate." - @DeanBlandinopic.twitter.com/Qcg2jtx2I2

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 14, 2025

An AFC executive told FoxSports, "they have obviously mastered it, but let's not let them cheat at it at the same time."