The Eagles epitomized teamwork in the sport of football. After relentlessly perfecting their execution in practice, they mastered the Brotherly Shove (also known as the Tush Push). Opposing teams struggled to counter it, and frustration turned into envy. In 2024 alone, the Birds achieved an impressive 81% success rate, converting 39 of 48 attempts into first downs or touchdowns. Their Super Bowl LIX triumph cemented the supremacy of their version of the move. And as the saying goes—when you can’t beat your rivals (or join them), you try to discredit them. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is a firm believer in fairness.

So what exactly happened? The Packers complained to the league about the tush push. They wanted a ban. It was one of the proposed changes in the coming season. But The 33rd Team analyst Ari Meirov has now claimed that the NFL Commissioner will not ban the move. He cited, “He’s (Goodell) basically said that the Eagles are just a team that does it really well. And we’re not going to eliminate a play because a team does it really well. We’ll talk about eliminating it if there’s health and safety issue or something like that.”

There were 2 key reasons behind the proposed ban. The first was injuries. Jordan Love, who had the clip of an unfortunate (yet hilarious) failed attempt at a Tush Push play go viral, saw his franchise claim that the play often caused injuries. But is that really the case? Roger Goodell and others in the management committee disregarded this idea, as they couldn’t find a single injury from this play in 2024.

The second one was about time. But that was also a hoax. What was the Eagles or Jalen Hurts‘ fault in the NFC Championship game against the Commanders when the OLB Frankie Luvu jumped over and over again to try and pre-empt the play? None! The Birds were calm. Even the referees had to warn the linebacker. So, there have been challenges for other teams while the Eagles reaped the benefits.

Not only NFL officials, but even the other NFL owners weren’t interested in the Packers’ plan. They also saw through it.

Other NFL owners follow Roger Goodell to dismiss Packers’ pleas

The facts above confirm there was no logical reasoning behind the move proposed by Jordan Love’s team. The only thing that came to the mind of every fan was jealousy. And it’s not like that tush push cannot be stopped. We saw that in the AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and the Bills. Even Josh Allen tried to pull a Jalen Hurts. But he was (controversially) stopped in his tracks. So if a team has a clear plan and they really want to stop it, they can do that with a solid defense.

This is a common belief of all other NFL owners. Even when Roger Goodell refused their plan, the Packers wanted the support of others. Sadly, their pleas fell on unsympathetic ears. Ari Meirov explained this and added, “We obviously know already one team was going to say no, that’s the Eagles. But we’ve heard from a number of owners out there I think Mark Davis (LV Raiders) is another one, who’s mentioned, I’m not gonna ban something because one team is really good at it. I’ll ban it if there’s a reason to ban it. But I don’t think there’s good reasoning on this one and I would be shocked if it does get banned.”

So, that’s not going to happen. But with this, Jordan Love and his front office have certainly put a dent in their image. Fans think that they are fearful of other teams and their skill sets. It’s competitive spirit and tactical nous that wins games and Championships. Such cheap tricks don’t go far.