The Philadelphia Eagles have revolutionized short-yardage plays in the NFL. While quarterback sneaks aren't new to the game, Philadelphia took it a step further, having players behind the quarterback push him forward, and the offensive line driving their bodies low to create some separation.
The Eagles have mastered the "tush push," and while they excel at it, other teams in the league have yet to figure out how to replicate it or stop it. Philadelphia has an extremely high success rate with the play, and because of this, other teams have repeatedly tried to get it banned by the NFL citing that it is risky for injuries because it forces both the offensive and defensive line to dive into each other.
The play became the topic of discussion again during the Eagles' Week 2 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. During the game, it appeared that Philadelphia had gotten away some false start penalties, which went viral on social media, prompting the NFL to take notice.
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Here is more on why the NFL is telling officials to watch the tush push closely.
Why is the NFL telling officials to watch the tush push closely?
In the offseason, the owners voted whether or not to ban the tush push. They decided ultimately not to ban the play, but it took two weeks for it to be the center of attention in the league. The Chiefs and Eagles were duking it out on Sunday afternoon and Philadelphia attempted the tush push several times. Fans noticed that players from both teams were lining up in the neutral zone, and some offensive linemen were consistently jumping before the snap. Neither of these situations was called.
4 of the 7 tush push attempts from the Eagles win over the Chiefs included early guard movement
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 15, 2025
you be the judge. None were flagged - officials need to figure this play out https://t.co/Cn3ekutLvP pic.twitter.com/Q1ft4l1B4U
This caused the NFL to release a statement to its officiating crew. The league admitted that false starts should have been called in the game that the Eagles went on to win. The NFL also instructed its officials to now closely monitor the tush push and be ready to call those neutral zone infractions and false starts.
Upcoming at https://t.co/GXHkX9kbHu: The NFL said in its officials' training tape sent to all 32 teams this week that the Eagles should have been called for false-starting on the tush push Sunday against the Chiefs, instructing officials to call “these plays tight."
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) September 18, 2025
With how dominant the tush push has been, along with the alignment of the play, this could end up being what gives defenses a fighting chance at stopping the play.
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Tush push penalty
Currently, the tush push is a legal play, and there isn't inherently a penalty that the league will call if the Eagles or any other team lines up in the formation. That being said, because of what happened in the Chiefs-Eagles game in Week 2, officials across the league have been instructed to look at the tush push play more closely. They will be looking to see if players line up in the neutral zone, and if anyone on either side of the ball moves early for either encroachment or a false start.
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What is the tush push?
The tush push is a spin-off of the quarterback sneak. Typically, the quarterback lines up under center and just dives forward trying to gain short yardage. With the tush push, the quarterback dives forward, but two players behind him shove him forward, creating more leverage and giving a higher chance that the quarterback will gain the yards they are looking for.
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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 sine 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.