22 Teams Voted To Kill NFL’s Zero-Injury Play—Packers Say ‘Nobody Reached Out’

One year after one of the most divisive rule debates in recent NFL history, a vote so contentious it drew comparisons to backroom political horse-trading, the controversial short-yardage play known as the “Brotherly Shove” is officially safe for the 2026 season. No team submitted a proposal to ban it before the league’s deadline. The play, which involves the quarterback taking a snap and being driven forward by teammates, will remain a fully legal weapon for offenses across the league.

McKay Makes It Official

NFL competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay delivered the definitive word at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “There’s no team proposal that I’ve seen from it,” McKay told reporters on Sunday. “So, I wouldn’t envision it. But you never know.” His measured but clear statement ended months of speculation about whether another ban attempt would resurface in 2026 following the bitter and high-profile failure of the previous effort just nine months earlier.

The Deadline Has Passed

NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent confirmed separately that the official deadline for team rule-change proposals has now passed without any submission targeting the play. That procedural window closing effectively locks in the play’s legality for the entire upcoming season. For the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, the two teams most closely identified with the strategy, it is a green light to deploy their most reliable short-yardage weapon in 2026 without fear of mid-season rule controversy.

How the 2025 Battle Unfolded

The Green Bay Packers initiated the 2025 push to eliminate the play, reportedly at the suggestion of the NFL itself, citing player safety concerns. The Packers first proposed banning offensive players from pushing a teammate who lines up directly behind the snapper. After owners tabled the issue, Green Bay submitted a broader revision: prohibiting players from pushing any ball carrier regardless of field position, reviving a rule that existed in the NFL until 2005.

The Vote That Shook the League

When owners gathered in May 2025, the debate had grown unusually intense, with public arguments from coaches, executives, and players drawing national attention. The revised ban needed 24 votes to pass but fell two short, with the final count reported by ESPN as 22-10. The Philadelphia Eagles’ social media team publicly celebrated the narrow survival of the play, a moment that underscored just how personal and tribal the debate had become across the league.

A Detractor Who Came Around

Perhaps the most striking subplot of the entire saga came in January 2026, when then-Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, one of the play’s most vocal public opponents, called it to score the game-winning touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wild Card Weekend. McDermott had spent months publicly arguing the play should be eliminated on player safety grounds, making his decision to lean on it at the highest-stakes moment of his season a remarkable about-face.

By the Numbers in 2025

The play grew more frequent in 2025 despite the controversy, with 112 total attempts league-wide compared to 101 in 2024. The Eagles led all teams with 27 attempts, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks experimented with tight ends rather than quarterbacks taking the snap. However, effectiveness dipped slightly. Teams converted first downs on 76.8% of attempts in 2025, per ESPN Research, compared to an 82% success rate from 2022 through 2024.

The Eagles’ Dominant Legacy

Since the Eagles popularized the play in 2022, their numbers stand apart from every other franchise in the league. Philadelphia ran more than a third of all attempts between 2022 and 2024, per ESPN Research, and accounted for more than half of all touchdowns scored using the strategy, 27 in total. The Eagles and Bills combined converted at an 87% rate over that span, compared to just 71% for every other team, a gap that explains why rivals fought so hard to eliminate it.

The UFL Steps In

While the NFL holds back, the United Football League moved decisively in the opposite direction. The UFL announced in February 2026 that it is banning the play outright for its upcoming season, prohibiting quarterbacks from being physically propelled forward by teammates after taking the snap. UFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino noted that the spring league collaborates closely with the NFL on experimental rule changes, raising the possibility that findings from the UFL’s ban could eventually inform future NFL deliberations.

What Comes Next

McKay signaled that the competition committee’s broader focus this offseason will be on other areas, including playoff seeding formats and the NFL’s catch rule, which drew criticism during the 2025 postseason. McKay indicated the league’s rulebook is in a stable place, with no sweeping rule changes expected in 2026. For now, the short-yardage play that sparked the most contentious rules debate in years heads into another season fully intact, its fate resting not with legislators, but with the defenses brave enough to stop it.

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Sources:
“Rich McKay: Not expecting tush push ban proposal this year.” ESPN, February 2026.
“NFL receives no tush push ban proposal this year after effort last year to ban it failed.” ABC7 / Associated Press, February 2026.
“NFL owners vote to keep ‘Tush Push,’ a signature move of Super Bowl champion Eagles.” Los Angeles Times, May 2025.
“Rich McKay doesn’t anticipate many rules proposals for 2026.” NBC Sports / Pro Football Talk, February 2026.
“UFL experimenting with wild rule changes for 2026 season.” Awful Announcing, February 2026.