Jason Kelce’s Words May Have Tipped Tush Push Final Vote

The tush push play received 22 votes in favor of a ban, just two votes short of the required majority as prescribed by the NFL's voting rules.

Jason Kelce’s Words May Have Tipped Tush Push Final Vote

Jason Kelce (Image via IMAGO)

The Philadelphia Eagles have executed one play so well that it nudged teams into seeking a ban on it. The iconic tush push, a play which has become synonymous with the Eagles, is one where the ball is snapped to the quarterback, who then leaps forward into the offensive line, who push forward.

The Eagles resort to this strategy every time they are close to the end zone and require a few yards. The team has run an estimated 124 tush push plays for 106 first downs, and 33 for touchdowns. According to ESPN’s stats, the team has an 85.5% success rate, significantly more than 31 other teams.

The Green Bay Packers proposed to ban the play, which continues to bail out the Eagles in critical situations. However, the proposal failed to secure three-fourths of the total votes required for it to pass. A total of 22 teams out of 32 voted for it to be banned, with the rest voting against the move. As per Adam Schefter, the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions sided with the Eagles, voting in favor of keeping the play.

The role of Jason Kelce is understated in the Eagles’ successful bid to keep the play safe. The former center had offered a demonstration and explanation of how the play works to NFL executives and team owners, resolving their queries and making them understand that it would be unreasonable to ban it.

Analyst Colin Cowherd complimented Jason Kelce on his pitch to the NFL executives and his appeal to keep the play.

Jason Kelce is powerful. He is respected. He made a plea to keep it, and I think it probably flipped one or two owners. I think Jason Kelce, he tush pushed it into not being banned.

Colin Cowherd said on The Herd

The tush push ban would have set a dangerous precedent in the NFL

The analyst is certain that Kelce’s conversations with owners and his humble appeal to keep the tush push alive helped in convincing one or two owners to vote against the proposal. The analyst shared his own view of the tush push.

I’ve always said the NFL is a TV show. And the two things they really care about are entertainment and safety, in no particular order. For me, the tush push kind of violates both. It looks dangerous and it’s ugly.

There is no other justification for banning the tush push other than the fact Philadelphia is outright better at executing the play than 31 other teams. Since 2022, 12 teams have scored by resorting to the tush push. Philly has twice the amount of tush push attempts as the Buffalo Bills.

Colin Cowherd and Jason Kelce
Colin Cowherd believes Jason Kelce played a vital role in helping the Eagles thwart the tush push vote (Image Credits: IMAGO/X)

The Eagles have the right pieces on their offensive line which is the biggest reason why they have been so successful in executing it in comparison to their peers.

The NFL’s owners did the right thing by not banning the play. If banned, it would have set a dangerous precedent, one that would essentially suggest that the league will not tolerate a play just because one team is able to execute it better than the rest.

The Eagles made full use of this opportunity to clap back at their opponents. Immediately after the play was safe, the team posted an image of the team’s offense in pre-snap stance with the caption ‘Push On.’ Subsequently, the Eagles social media team released a 26-minute video of the team running the tush push to perfection. It’s fair game, after all the team did secure yet another victory in the postseason.

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