Bills QB Josh Allen explains why he doesn’t think the tush push should be banned: ‘My advice is to stop it’

The “tush push” was a hotly debated issue this offseason, as 22 of 32 NFL teams voted to ban the Philadelphia Eagles’ creation at the NFL owners meetings. While the specialized quarterback sneak will be seen in 2025, this is a topic that could again be broached next year.

The Buffalo Bills were one of the 22 teams that voted to ban the tush push, but their star quarterback and reigning NFL MVP shares a different opinion on the matter. During a recent interview with SI.com, Josh Allen said he doesn’t feel like the league should ban the play. 

“I’m a big believer in if you can’t stop it, keep running it, right?” Allen said. “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. Because, one, they maybe don’t practice it enough or, two, they don’t have the guys to do it. And 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 and so I don’t really sway one way or the other. I try to play the game based on the interpretation of the rules. And if that was the rule that was passed, you know, 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?”

Allen’s defense of the tush push is one that has been heard before. Some may find it hard to see why the play should be banned, but detractors have several thoughts. For one, it looks more like a rugby scrum than a football play. Plus, some have a problem with players moving or shoving ballcarriers forward. This wasn’t allowed until 2005, and is actually something NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he was interested in revisiting.

During the league meetings this offseason, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, former center Jason Kelce and general manager Jon Ferrari reportedly spoke for nearly an hour about the play, not only defending it, but also offering insight into how it is coached, practiced and executed. Perhaps some teams picked up tips on how to be more effective at the pushing of tushes, including Allen and the Bills.