If one can’t stop it, vote against it.
The NFL’s most controversial offensive play took center stage Thursday night when the Eagles ran four consecutive Tush Pushes to get the ball from the 3-yard line across the goal line for the go-ahead points in a back-and-forth first half against the Giants at MetLife Stadium before Big Blue rolled to a 34-17 win.
It was boring to watch and drew boos from the home crowd, but it was effective in converting a fourth-and-1 and then a second-and-goal as the Eagles took a 17-13 lead on Jalen Hurts run.
Hurts leads the NFL in rushes for a first down on third- or fourth-and-1 since 2022, according to the broadcast on Prime.
The Giants were one of 22 teams in favor of banning the Tush Push in May, but the vote fell two votes shy of the necessary threshold (24 of 32) to be outlawed. It seems to be a safe bet that there will be another vote next spring.
The NFL says that the play does not lead to an unusually high injury rate — the reason given by most coaches who want the Tush Push banned is player safety rather than just an inability to stop it. Try telling that to defensive tackle D.J. Davidson, who injured his knee on the fourth straight scrum and was carted back to the locker room.
The Eagles run a tush push play during the second quarter of the Giants’ 34-17 home win over the Eagles on Oct. 9, 2025. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Trailing 13-10 in the second quarter, the Eagles moved the ball 68 yards with relative ease, including a 16-yard completion to A.J. Brown on a third-and-7.
Faced with third-and-1 at the 3-yard line, the Eagles went to their signature play rather than dial up something creative for Brown or Saquon Barkley — or go back to the shovel pass to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown earlier in the game.
Here’s how the run of Tush Pushes looked:
No. 1: Hurts was stood up by Dexter Lawrence for no gain as Brian Burns flew over the top of the offensive line.
No. 2: Following a Giants timeout, Hurts squeezed through the middle for a 2-yard gain and a first down, with a forceful shove in his back from Goedert.
Jalen Hurts crosses the goal line for a touchdown on a tush push during the second quarter of the Eagles’ road loss to the Giants Getty Images
No. 3: Hurts was stuffed by the combination of Rakeem Nunez-Roches and a head-over-heels Kayvon Thibodeaux.
No. 4: Hurts churned his legs across the goal line and scored before he could be turned and tossed to the ground by Roy Robertson-Harris.
The other controversy in the league right now is whether the Eagles are committing false starts on the Tush Push.
It sure looked that way when slow-motion replay showed the fourth-down conversion, though officials argue that can’t be seen by the naked eye.
The ugly truth: The Eagles are virtually unstoppable if given multiple shots in those situations.