BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Bills coach Sean McDermott explained his stance on Monday of supporting a ban of the “tush push.”
McDermott, speaking from the annual NFL owners’ meetings in Florida, said that his support of the ban comes from wishing to protect the health and safety of the players.
The play, which was started and mastered by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 for short-yardage situations, could be on the chopping block this week after the Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal that would effectively ban the strategy. McDermott is in support of banning the play.
“Even though there’s not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is the health and safety of the players,” McDermott said. “It’s added force, number one, and then the posture of the players.”
McDermott favors banning the play despite being among the coaches who utilize it the most: the Bills and Eagles have combined to run the play 163 times in the past three seasons, more than the rest of the NFL combined, according to ESPN Research. The Eagles and Bills have scored a touchdown or gotten a first down on 87% of attempts, compared to 71% among the rest of the NFL.
Not all of the attempts were running the play, but the Bills were successful on 74.2% of fourth down attempts in 2024, ranking second in the league.
The Bills have run a different form of the push play than the Eagles. The Eagles position three players behind quarterback Jalen Hurts, while Buffalo has just one player behind Josh Allen’s 240-pound frame. McDermott said he will continue to run a form of the play if it is not banned.
McDermott’s position on the NFL’s competition committee allows him to have a say on which rules will be reviewed and voted on. He is one of four head coaches on the committee, joining Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles.
According to ESPN, McDermott, McVay, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and assistant GM Jon Ferrari got into an “animated” side conversation Sunday in a hallway outside of the ballroom while the rule was being discussed.
“That’s what I’m tasked to do as a committee member is to do what’s best for the overall game and growing the game the right way,” McDermott said Monday. “Yes, we do a form of this play and we do it well. I believe us and Philadelphia both run a form of this play and do it well. I believe both teams can be just as good in a traditional form of a quarterback sneak and they’ve shown us that over the years. Philadelphia and us. That’s partly why I believe what I believe.”
McDermott also commented on a submitted rule change that would eliminate an automatic first down for holding or illegal contact by a defender, saying it needs some tweaks before it could be implemented.
“That’s a tricky one. I think on the surface there’d be some things we’d need to work through to make that a little bit more specific to the game right now,” he said. “There’s some things you could do to navigate if that rule goes through on the whole, generally speaking. I’ve heard some adjustments maybe to the proposal that I think are some good ideas, but I think more conversations are important.”
Teams are expected to vote on the changes Tuesday morning. Twenty-four, or 75% of teams, would need to vote in favor of a change in order for it to be adopted.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.