Sean Payton explains why the Eagles’ Tush Push isn’t a health and safety issue

Over the Nick Sirianni era, no aspect of the NFL game has been more contensious as the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature play: the Tush Push.

To some, it’s a smart way for a run-first team to use their strength in short-yardage situations, taking advantage of the alignment rules to drastically improve the team’s conversion probabilities in important situations. Multiple teams around the world, from the NFL to the college ranks, and even high schools, have added it to their playbooks, and when run correctly, it is a certified cheat code.

And yet, in the eyes of others, it’s a deeply unattractive play that is both a bad look for the league and a bad play for the health of the players asked to run it.

Could the NFL still ban the Tush Push at some point in the future, even if the Eagles had much less success running it in 2025? Potentially so, but if it happens, it won’t be because of safety, as, according to Sean Payton, that issue has been firmly resolved.

“Which play do you think is more of a health risk? A thousand more kick returns,” Payton said. “So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety, it will just be like we don’t like it, which is okay.”

How many times did the Eagles have a player seriously injured on a Tush Push over the past two years? That would be zero, with Jalen Hurts taking a beating from both sides of the trenches without missing a step. No, if the NFL decides to ban the play, likely when the Eagles get back to running it effectively, it would be because of Philadelphia’s success, as opposed to any concern about the players running it.

Sean Payton says if the NFL ever eliminated the “tush push” it won’t be because of health and safety. It’ll be because “we don’t like it.” He said: “Last year, we spent two hours on health and safety on the (tush push) and then added 1,000 kickoffs. … Sometimes your BS meter… pic.twitter.com/7F2tzP0hAR

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 24, 2026

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