The Philadelphia Eagles’ efforts this offseason to lobby for the tush push to remain legal in the NFL paid off. The play popularized by the Eagles has not been banned. Ahead of the ruling, The Athletic’s Brooks Kubena and Dianna Russini reported that “key” NFL committees recommended banning the play. But that wasn’t enough.
Why did the Eagles care so much? Because the tush push has worked for them and, perhaps surprisingly, the Buffalo Bills. Jalen Hurts had 11 rushing touchdowns from the 1-yard line during the regular season last year. Josh Allen had six rushing scores from the 1-yard line for the Bills. Both quarterbacks possess stature and strength that complement the short-yardage play, but other quarterbacks in the league do as well, and many teams could theoretically utilize the tush push.
Impact on the Eagles
The tush push is integral to the Eagles’ playbook. At the 1-yard line, opposing teams expected to face the famed short-yardage play. And the team deployed it on third and fourth downs plenty. In fact, on any down in which the Eagles needed one yard for a first down, Hurts rushed 38 times, converting 31 of those attempts. While the tush push isn’t an official stat category, one can assume that many of those attempts used it. Hurts has powerful legs and is built for the play, and Philadelphia prioritizes an offensive line and center who can make it happen. That center was Jason Kelce for years, but Cam Jurgens assumed those duties after Kelce’s retirement following a wild-card loss to Tampa Bay to end the 2023 season.
Without the tush push, Hurts could have still used his legs at the 1-yard line, but Saquon Barkley would have likely taken more impact on short runs, and the Eagles may have pivoted to more passing chances when close to the goal or in third- and fourth-down opportunities. That may have opened the possibility for more fantasy points for all skill-position players, including A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but primarily Barkley, who had just five carries in goal-to-go situations from a distance of two yards or less — he converted just one of those carries for a touchdown. Hurts had 17 such carries, netting 11 touchdowns.
According to TruMedia, since 2021 (when Hurts became Philly’s QB), the Eagles have converted for a first down or TD on 86% of QB sneaks (112 of 130) with two or fewer yards to go. Hurts ran 120 of the sneaks and converted 104 of them (87%). On all other designed rushes with the same parameters, the Eagles converted for a first down or TD 64% of the time (144 of 244). Other than the Bills, addressed below and in the table, all other teams converted on a first down or TD on 81% of QB sneaks (677 of 837) since 2021 and 71% of all other designed rushes (332 of 469).
TeamQB SneaksOther Designed Rushes
So, the Eagles benefit in two ways from the play (though keep in mind that “since 2021” means that many of these years the Eagles didn’t have Barkley and QB sneaks are not necessarily tush pushes) because their quarterback sneak rate is five percentage points above the league average with two or fewer yards to go (which is considered significant) and 7% below the league average on other designed rushes (also significant).
Jalen Hurts
Hurts has relied heavily on the tush push for touchdowns in fantasy football. He would not net 11 touchdowns from the 1-yard line without it. He has good legs and could potentially use them for scores without the play popularized by Philly, but 11 is far less feasible. Luckily for him, his TD ceiling remains.
There’s no way to know exactly how much impact this ruling would have had on his fantasy value, but Jake Ciely had him ranked before the ban vote as the QB4 in Tier 1, right above Joe Burrow (Tier 2) and Baker Mayfield (Tier 3). Last year, Hurts finished as QB5 in fantasy points per game, below Burrow at QB3 and Mayfield at QB4. When head coach Nick Sirianni took over, there were growing pains and frustrations, but after the Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl performance, Philly seems to be jelling. However, the team lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in the offseason, and he was replaced with Kevin Patullo, who was promoted from passing game coordinator, a role he’s had since 2021. So, outside of the tush push, several factors impact Hurts’ value, and one of those is Barkley’s success (RB1 in FPPG with 20.14, ahead of Derrick Henry, who had 18.67). In 2023, pre-Barkley, Hurts finished as QB2 with 20.99 fantasy points per game. Although Hurts was QB5 in 2024, he finished with 21.01 FPPG in a better offense thanks to Philly’s new back. Fantasy managers can expect more of the same for Hurts, making Ciely’s QB4 ranking logical.
Saquon Barkley
Can Barkley be a safer 1.01 bet in fantasy football? Probably not. Along with finishing as RB1 in fantasy, he had 2,005 rushing yards, 278 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. However, Barkley had zero (0!) rushing touchdowns from the 1-yard line and two from the 2-yard line. If he could have taken half of Hurts’ 11 touchdowns from the 1-yard line, it would have given him five or six more rushing TDs on the season. Last year, he had 13, so 18 or 19 would have been an incredible ceiling. He also would have likely seen more short-yardage carries, given the Eagles’ reliance on the tush push.
In that case, he could have broken some for valuable fantasy yards, but he also would have taken more wear and tear on the body, which could have made him more injury prone, something not unusual for Barkley, particularly during his stint with the New York Giants. And Philly needs Barkley healthy, so the ruling means Philly still scores and converts, and their star RB has a better health outlook. Regardless, he was and is already Ciely’s 1.01 for fantasy, so nothing changes there.
Impact on Josh Allen and the Bills
Like the Eagles, the Bills have also relied on the tush push, though less so. Since 2021, with two or fewer yards to go, the Bills have converted for a first down or TD on 85% of sneaks (60 of 71), and Allen ran for 69 of them, converting on 60 (87%); the Bills converted on 69% of all other designed rushes (160 of 233), some of which is illustrated above. The volume is much lower for the Bills (71 attempts vs. 130); however, with two or fewer yards to go, they still convert QB sneaks only 1% less than the Eagles and 4% more than the rest of the league. Much of this can be attributed to Allen’s size and running ability, though, and Buffalo still converts on 69% of other designed rushes (vs. the Eagles 64% and the league’s 71%), so the ruling is less impactful for the team.
Allen finished as QB1 in fantasy points per game in 2023 and QB2 in 2024, behind Jackson, who had a career season with 25.32 FPPG. Ciely has Allen as QB3 behind Jackson and Jayden Daniels, and that would’ve remained unchanged regardless of the ruling.
(Photo of Jalen Hurts: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
