Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott might not be thrilled with the news that the NFL owners voted Wednesday to not ban the tush push play.
However, as the team that uses the tush push more than every team except the play’s creator, the Philadelphia Eagles, having the ability to continue its use figures to be a positive development for Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense.
McDermott, who is a member of the league’s influential Competition Committee, called for the banning of the play earlier this offseason because he believes it presents a health and safety issue for the players.
He spoke at the NFL owners’ meetings in late March before the owners decided to table their discussion and vote on the proposal – submitted by the Green Bay Packers – at their meetings in Minneapolis this week.
“I feel where I’m most concerned is, even though there is not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is the health and safety of the players, first and foremost,” he said. “It’s two things: It’s force, added forced, No. 1, and then the posture of the players, being asked to execute that type of play, that’s where my concern comes in.”
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How Buffalo Bills use the tush push
Yet McDermott did not stop offensive coordinator Joe Brady from regularly using the tush push in 2024 when the Bills were faced with third- or fourth-and-short situations. With Allen being one of the biggest and strongest QBs in the NFL, he was almost unstoppable when the Bills used the play, that is until the AFC Championship Game when the Kansas City Chiefs stopped him on four of the six times the Bills tried it.
Based on reported numbers, since 2022 the Eagles have used the tush push 122 times, followed by the Bills (74), Steelers (55), and Broncos (52). Last season, the Bills used it 17 times in the regular season and Allen converted the first down or touchdown on 16, though that didn’t include the postseason. Their 94% success rate was actually better than the Eagles 82.3% rate (28 of 34).
The proposal fell two votes shy of getting the 24 it needed for ratification as 10 teams voted in favor of keeping the play. The 10 teams that voted against the ban were: The Eagles, Ravens, Browns, Lions, Jaguars, Dolphins, Patriots, Saints, Jets and Titans.
When Allen spoke to the media on April 22 when the Bills began their voluntary workout program at One Bills Drive, he didn’t have much feeling one way or the other.
“I think at this point it is what it is,” he said. “I don’t know if I have a particular feeling about it. I know that we’ve utilized it. I know that if it wasn’t banned, I think we would find a different play or a different way to still try to get the job done. But I don’t know the statistics behind player safety and all of that. So I really don’t have a say on it, to be honest.”