Will The NFL Take Away The Bills’ Most Successful Play In 2026?

Change takes a while for everything in life. Sometimes it never happens at all. For the past couple of years, some people in the NFL have been hoping to ban a specific play that the Bills have had a lot of success with. They didn't get to it this year, but will they be able to do away with it this season?

The Tush Push has been a very successful play for the Buffalo Bills

People who have followed the Bills long enough may remember a time when it felt like a 4th and 2 would have ended up with a punt if they were anywhere outside of their opponents' 30-yard line.

Then, the Bills got a 6'5" linebacker of a quarterback, and they learned how to do what's now known as "the tush push." It's a play where the quarterback lines up under center, and when the ball is snapped, he will dive forward while a person in the backfield pushes him from the back to keep him moving forward.

It worked for the Bills 87% of the time in the 2024 season, resulting in either a touchdown or a first down. That is about as automatic as you can get in the NFL.

They almost banned it in 2025

At the end of the 2024-2025 season, the Packers submitted a proposal to the league to make it illegal in a game, citing that it was unsafe and could cause serious injury.

Ironically, the Bills' head coach at the time, Sean McDermott, agreed that it caused some concerns.

"To me, there's always been an injury risk with that play, and I've expressed that opinion for the last couple of years or so when it really started to come into play the way it's being used, especially a year ago." - Sean McDermott

However, at the competition committee meeting at the end of that season, they chose NOT to ban the play.

Will it be banned at this year's competition committee meeting?

The competition committee is meeting again this year, as it does every year, to discuss possible rule changes. The Tush Push was not included in the formal proposals at all. There were quite a few proposals to change the way the kicking game goes, but there weren't any to address the Tush Push.

So it looks like it could be on the table once again for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.