Josh Allen defiantly backs the controversial “Tush Push” play amid a push to ban the quarterback-sneak, going against the opinion held by his own head coach, Sean McDermott at the Highmark Stadium.
This NFL offseason, debate around the Tush Push, a play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles that involves teammates pushing the quarterback forward in short-yardage situations, reached a peak.
At the annual owners meetings, the Green Bay Packers proposed banning the play, citing player safety concerns. Surprisingly, the Bills were one of the 22 teams that supported the proposal, falling just two votes short of the 24 needed to enact the rule change.
Yet the 29-year-old Allen, who has been effective in Buffalo’s version of the play, was clear that he would have cast a very different vote if he had the power to do so ahead of the upcoming season.
“I’m a big believer in if you can’t stop it, keep running it,” Allen said, via SI.com’s Liam McKeone. “Right? I think that there’s a few teams that do it better than others.
“But then you look at a few teams that try to do it, and it doesn’t have the same success. Just because a couple teams do it better than others, I don’t feel like it should be banned.
“I understand the merit of what it brings… I try to play the game based on the interpretation of the rules. If that was the rule that was passed, we’ll find a different way.
“But I feel like if you can use it to your benefit, use it to your benefit. If you don’t like it, my advice is to stop it, you know?”
Why was the Tush Push nearly banned?
Despite the Bills’ vote in favor of the ban, the play will remain legal in the 2025 NFL season. Ten teams voted against the proposal, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, preventing the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass.
Interestingly, NFL data revealed no injuries on Tush Push plays last season, undermining one of the core arguments used by proponents of the ban, such as McDermott’s.
Buffalo had its own form of the Tush Push last season, often leveraging Allen’s size and power in short-yardage scenarios, perhaps why the quarterback is so keen to keep it legal, and in his playbook.
While it lacked the mechanical efficiency of the Eagles’ version, it proved effective-until the AFC Championship Game, where the Kansas City Chiefs were able to completely neutralize the Bills’ attempts.
The Eagles, meanwhile, managed to go one better by winning Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs and scored with the play to open the scoring in New Orleans as Jalen Hurts hit the end zone.
With the play surviving until at least the 2026/27 NFL season, Allen will now look to use the play when he kicks off his own 2025/26 campaign against the Baltimore Ravens on September 7.
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