USA TODAY International Edition
Eagles defend push plays amid NFL review
The NFL has been called the “No Fun League,” and that nickname is resonating with the Philadelphia Eagles amid the league’s review of whether pushing an offensive player forward will remain legal.
Head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to the media in Indianapolis at the NFL combine on Tuesday and addressed the ongoing situation.
“We’ll do whatever the rules say to do, obviously,” he said. “But obviously, we had a lot of fun coming up with those plays, right? We had a lot of fun practicing those plays, the different ways we did it, the guys had fun doing that. Fletcher Cox always wanted to be in on one of those plays. So it was a lot of fun, some of the wrinkles that were off of it.
“I thought it was good for the game. Obviously, I’m biased. We had a lot of success with it.”
How good were the Eagles at using push plays?
The Eagles have been criticized for lining up running backs next to Jalen Hurts and having them push the quarterback forward. The Eagles had success with it as Hurts went 36 of 39 on quarterback sneaks in the 2022 season. He led the team with 13 rushing touchdowns.
Sirianni, who led the Eagles to Super Bowl 57 this past season, said the plays require a lot of technique and that they had multiple advantages.
“I think we had some exciting plays that came off of it when the defense was trying to stop the play that they thought was coming,” he said. “And that’s kind of what football is, right?”
General manager Howie Roseman also shared his thoughts on Tuesday and made a clear statement.
“All I know is everything we’re doing is legal and it works,” he said. “And just because people do something that’s really good doesn’t mean it should be outlawed.”
What are the rules regarding push plays in football?
The NFL amended its rules in 2005 to say that players could push their teammates forward on offense, but pulling them would continue to be illegal.
“What the league found was so difficult was you never were sure who was pushing who,” Mike Pereira, former NFL director of officials and current rules analyst for Fox Sports, told the Los Angeles Times. “So you’re not necessarily pushing the runner. You could be pushing someone else that’s in contact with the runner. So it became really too difficult to officiate. Therefore, we just said, ‘ OK, it’s legal to push.’ ”
That same year, Southern Cal’s football team beat Notre Dame behind the “Bush Push” where quarterback Matt Leinart was pushed into the end zone by running back Reggie Bush. At the time, the play was illegal as the NCAA rulebook stated, “The runner shall not grasp a teammate; and no other player of his team shall grasp, push, lift or charge into him to assist him in forward progress.”
The NCAA changed its rules in 2014 to allow pushes.