Resolution 250347

..Title Calling on the National Football League to abandon proposed rule changes to halt the usage of the Philadelphia Eagles' signature quarterback sneak, better known as the "Brotherly Shove" or the "Tush Push." ..Body WHEREAS, Since 2022 the Philadelphia Eagles have achieved notoriety through the success of their variant of the quarterback sneak, where two offensive players line up behind the quarterback and push him forward as the ball is snapped and the quarterback lunges across the line of scrimmage for a first down or a touchdown; and WHEREAS, The Eagles have successfully converted over 90 percent of the quarterback sneaks they have run in this manner each season they have ran the play, leading to rival teams calling for it to be banned even as they experiment with their own versions of the quarterback sneak; and WHEREAS, The quarterback sneak is not new, and the Buffalo Bills have also achieved some success in running the play. However, the success the Eagles have had running the quarterback sneak has engendered jealousy across the league, and multiple attempts have been floated by other NFL teams to ban the play because they cannot stop it; and WHEREAS, Rival teams have claimed the play is unsafe, little more than a "rugby play" that takes the excitement and competitiveness out of the game, and should be penalized because it involves assisting the runner of the football. However, the play has become one of the most anticipated and dramatic moments of any Eagles game. Further, there is not enough information to determine the safety of the infrequently run play because it is so situational: it is almost exclusively run on third and fourth downs; and WHEREAS, The true success of the play comes down to the offensive line, on which the Eagles are renowned for investing significant draft capital, player development, and salary cap space. The Eagles consistently have one of the largest offensive lines in the league, and their offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has been pivotal to their success. Pro Bowlers Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, and the legendary Jason Kelce have been mainstays on what most analysts consider the greatest offensive line in NFL history; and WHEREAS, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, a former powerlifter who once squatted 600 pounds, tied for the fifth most rushing touchdowns in the Eagles Super Bowl-winning 2024 season due to the success of the play; and WHEREAS, Rather than figure out ways to stop the Eagles from running the play with such predictable success, teams such as the Green Bay Packers have made multiple attempts to ban the play before the NFL's Competition Committee; and WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-29 in their 2024 NFL season opener in Brazil (the first such game played in South America) and again defeated the Packers 22-10 in the Wild Card round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs; and WHEREAS, The NFL tabled a vote to ban the practice in March 2025, but will again consider the proposal to ban the "Tush Push" in several weeks when the league again convenes in Minnesota; and WHEREAS, Many coaches around the league have begrudgingly admitted that while they dislike the play because they cannot stop it, it's part of the game and should not be banned; and WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX, denying the Chiefs a historic Super Bowl threepeat. The first touchdown scored in that game was a quarterback sneak, underscoring how important the play has been to the team's success; and WHEREAS, As a reminder, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 to win their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history back in 2018 over Tom Brady, denying him a historic threepeat as well; and WHEREAS, The spirit of competition in sports necessitates that teams consistently evolve their tactics and strategies to win, and that other teams figure out counter tactics and counter strategies. Banning a play as successful as the Eagles' quarterback sneak would hurt the game of football by putting a cap of the development of the run game and the development of elite offensive guarding. Rather than ban a play out of spite and envy, NFL teams should look to the Philadelphia Eagles as a model franchise for how to develop innovative strategies for success on the field; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby calls on the National Football League to abandon proposed rule changes to halt the usage of the Philadelphia Eagles' signature quarterback sneak, better known as the "Brotherly Shove" or the "Tush Push." ..End