The endless tale of the Philadelphia Eagles' Tush Push play will continue to play out until the NFL decides to ban it or it becomes a part of every team's playbook.
This offseason, there were two votes in the NFL owners' meetings to ban the play, thanks to proposals sent by the Green Bay Packers. Neither vote secured the necessary 24 votes needed for the proposal to pass.
The play can now live on for at least the 2025 season, but some are unhappy about it, as they feel the Eagles have an unfair advantage over it. Or do that?
Pro Football Focus digs into the data behind the Tush Push
As part of what makes PFF so great, Ben Linsey wrote an article about the Tush Push and its remarkable effectiveness. The results were surprising in some ways and less dramatic in others.
Philadelphia, like everyone expects, does outperform every team in the NFL in total expected points added (EPA) on QB sneaks by the offense since 2021. Since the Eagles have run a QB sneak 145 times, which doubles the next highest in the Buffalo Bills with 77, their EPA is double the next team's as they are just under 80. In second is the San Francisco 49ers who are under 40.
And quarterback sneaks typically result in positive EPA, given that it’s a high conversion rate play and that a successful quarterback sneak typically results in a new set of downs or a touchdown. The average expected points added of a quarterback sneak (tush push variety or not) in the NFL since 2021 is 0.25. So, it follows that the team that has run nearly twice as many quarterback sneaks as the next closest offense over the past four seasons has a comfortable lead in total expected points added on the play."
The following section is where things get surprising. In terms of average EPA added on QB sneaks by offense since 2021, the Eagles are not the best at executing it, as they rank sixth. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came in first.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. Denver Broncos
5. Detroit Lions
6. Philadelphia Eagles
"The Eagles have been among the best teams in the NFL in terms of average expected points added per quarterback sneak, ranking sixth in the NFL since 2021, but they haven’t been the best.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens lead the way in that metric, though all three teams have run fewer than 25 quarterback sneaks over that time frame. The Denver Broncos, however, also rank above Philadelphia in average EPA per sneak on a healthy 57 sneaks since 2021 (fourth-most in the NFL)."
PFF went as far as to look at QB sneaks with an RB/FB Depth of three or fewer yards and with two or fewer yards to go. While the Eagles are still one of the best, they are not number one. They fell to second behind the Buffalo Bills.
Team | QB Sneaks | Conversions | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 82 | 68 | 83% |
Bills | 43 | 36 | 84% |
Cardinals | 12 | 8 | 67% |
Bears | 9 | 7 | 78% |
Patriots | 7 | 4 | 57% |
The data that PFF shared paints a vivid picture of the play. Yes, the Eagles run it more often than any other team in the NFL, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are the best at it. Other teams have found more effective ways to run the QB sneak than Philadelphia has.
This is concrete evidence that everyone needs to stop using the excuse that it is an unstoppable play. It can be prevented, but most teams can't. Other teams found success with their version of the QB sneak or Tush Push, so what is the complaint?
Read more: Eagles accomplish feat no other 2025 team has done in latest rankings
There is an added element to worry about, namely, players' safety during the play, but no data has backed up the fact that it hurts players. The Tush Push has produced zero injuries.
What this means is that the Eagles should continue to run the Tush Push, and other teams should adopt this habit as well. It also means the play leaves room for improvement for Philadelphia, which can be a scary prospect if the Eagles can figure out how to close the gap.