The Philadelphia Eagles are defending Super Bowl champions and have earned the respect of the National Football League. They’ve been placed in a marquee matchup to open the season against the Dallas Cowboys and earned four primetime games as they look to defend their title in 2025.
But alliances can change quickly in the NFL. With one important item on the dockett at the league’s owner’s meetings, Roger Goodell has turned on the Eagles and it could take away one of their biggest strengths entering their title defense.
Roger Goodell Urges NFL to Ban Eagles ‘Tush Push’ Play
The NFL owners will vote on whether to ban the Eagles’ “Tush Push” play at the league meetings in Minnesota on Wednesday. While the play has helped Philadelphia climb to the top of the NFL’s hierarchy, Goodell has pushed owners to vote for the ban according to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.
“It’s become clear that [Goodell] is a strong proponent of banning it,” Schultz wrote on a post on X. “And when Goodell pushes for change, it usually ends up happening.”
Schultz went on to say that Wednesday’s vote is expected to be a close one and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini also reported that the league’s competition and players’ health and safety committees have voted to ban the play.
Everybody loves a good heel turn, but Goodell has had this stance dating back to a December 2023 report by Russini. While Goodell initially rebuffed that report, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested that a chaotic goal line situation where the Washington Commanders were threatened with a penalty during the NFC Championship Game may have been the last straw.
SI’s Albert Breer also added that the decision to table the Green Bay Packers’ proposal from the previous owners’ meetings in May may have been done so that Goodell could gather enough votes to have it banned.
Regardless of how it plays out, losing the “Tush Push” would be a big blow to the Eagles. Philadelphia has converted on 90% of short yardage situations since installing the modified quarterback sneak in 2022 and it helped Jalen Hurts score 42 rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons – the most by a quarterback in the NFL during that timeframe.
Whatever the league decides to do, the Eagles will likely have a counter. But if the “Tush Push” is banned, Philadelphia will be the latest city to have a good reason to hate Goodell.