Banning the tush push and changes to playoff seeding are among proposed NFL rule changes

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) lines up for the goal line Tush Push play during the NFL championship playoff football game against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

The Green Bay Packers have formally proposed a rule change to ban the tush push and the Detroit Lions proposed that playoff seeding be done based on record instead of automatically placing division winners in the top four spots.

Teams made several other proposals released Wednesday that will be added to additional ones made by the competition committee to be considered at the league meetings later this month, including a change to the overtime rule and the so-called legal tampering period in free agency.

Any rule change must be approved by 24 out of 32 team owners.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last month at the scouting combine that his team wanted to ban the tush push, which is a modified quarterback sneak where two or three teammates line up behind the quarterback and push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown.

Philadelphia has used the play successfully behind Jalen Hurts for the past three seasons in short-yardage situations, including during a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Other teams have tried to use it as well but without the success of the Eagles.

The proposed rule states that no offensive player may “immediately at the snap, push or throw his body against a teammate, who was lined up directly behind the snapper and received the snap, to aid him in an attempt to gain yardage.” Doing so would result in a 10-yard penalty.

The playoff change proposal by the Lions would have led to significant changes last season when Minnesota had to go on the road for a wild-card game against the Rams despite winning four more games than Los Angeles in the regular season. The Vikings would have hosted a game as the third seed under the proposal.

The Chargers also went on the road as a wild-card team against division-winning Houston despite having one additional win.

Under the proposed rule, the first tiebreaker among tied teams would be based on winning the division.

The Eagles proposed a change in overtime rules to align it more like the playoffs when each team is guaranteed an opportunity to score. The proposal would extend regular-season overtime from 10 minutes to 15 and the game wouldn’t end if the team that got the ball first scored a touchdown.

League executive Troy Vincent said last month that changes were needed to overtime rules to decrease the advantage of winning the coin toss. Receiving the ball first has become more of an advantage than before 2011, when overtime was sudden death. Receiving teams won 56.8 per cent of overtime games from 2017-24, up from 55.4 per cent from 2001-11.

In other proposed changes:

• The Lions proposed that illegal contact and defensive holding penalties would not give the offense an automatic first down.

• The Steelers proposed that teams would be allowed to have one video call or phone call with prospective unrestricted free agents from other teams and their agents during the two-day negotiating window before the start of the league year. Currently teams are allowed to talk only to agents during this period. It also would allow for teams to arrange travel for prospective free agents as long as the travel didn’t start until after the league year.

• The Lions proposed that players put on injured reserve before or on the day that rosters are cut to 53 shouldn’t count on the 90-man roster limit, unless they will be designated to return during the season.

• Several clubs proposed allowing teams to prepare the special kicking balls before the day of the game like they can with regular balls.

• Washington proposed allowing teams to obtain scouting credentials for games in Weeks 17 and 18 for potential playoff opponents in the conference and requiring teams hosting wild-card games to grant scouting credentials to any team in their conference that is in the playoffs.

Josh Dubow, The Associated Press