During the 2025 offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles were forced to defend the "Tush Push" play after a dominant run to the Super Bowl. It was deemed "unfair" based simply on its high percentage of success. Now, with the Philly offense struggling and not running the play as well, calls for it to be banned have quieted. This doesn't mean Philly fans have forgiven or forgotten those who pushed to ban a perfectly legal play, including the Pittsburgh Steelers. Coming off a Monday Night Football win, The Philly Special Show's Anthony DiBona pointed out the irony of the franchise not utilizing the play.
Not only did the Steelers use the Tush-Push multiple times, but Pittsburgh also used it on one of their touchdowns, with tight end Connor Heyward scoring. The irony isn't lost on Philly fans who have an understandable grudge against teams that attempted to ban the play. Running the very play you deemed unfair is the height of hypocrisy and reinforces the fact that much of the league was jealous of Philly's success.
You're not going to ban Josh Allen from willing mediocre talent to relevance or Lamar Jackson from using his legs to create big plays. These ideas are just as laughable as it should be to ban Jalen Hurts from sneaking the football to convert in short-yardage. It is simply sour grapes from last year's losing teams, and that was further proven by the Steelers opting to run the play.
Eagles Fans Note Obvious Hypocrisy of Steelers Utilizing Tush Push
What makes the stolen play all the more amusing is the fact that aging quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn't going to be put in harm's way. Pittsburgh runs the play with Rodgers serving as a spectator, typically opting to stand back and keep himself far away from the play. Still, Pittsburgh is running it based on the genius of the idea and how often it can be converted in short-yardage situations.
This makes the team's attempt to ban the play notable in the fact that it is now undeniably hypocritical. Philadelphia isn't cheating or breaking any league rules, but has bigger, stronger athletes and is using this to their advantage. That is what the game is supposed to be, without teams pitching a fit for the league to step in anytime they deem something too difficult to stop.
Pittsburgh's win put the franchise in control of the AFC North and firmly in playoff positioning. It is frustrating that a large part of the win that put them in this position was all built around a play that only months earlier they attempted to remove from the game entirely. No question, if league rivals try to take the play out again, there will be no shortage of examples of hypocrisy and failures that should again doom any such ill-conceived attempts.