The Chicago Bears play in one of the NFL’s toughest divisions, the NFC North. A division so physical it was once nicknamed “The Black and Blue Division,” the Bears have plenty of intense rivalries with the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.
While all three rivalries bring some bad feelings to the table, it’s the rivalry with the Packers that stands out the most. If beating the Packers at Lambeau FIeld in Week 18 wasn’t enough to deliver some bragging rights, Bears fans have a new talking point as their rivals to the north just became the league’s biggest laughing stock.
NFL Rejects Packers Proposal to Outlaw the ‘Tush Push’
According to multiple reports including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers’ proposal to ban the “Tush Push” play has been rejected at the NFL’s owners’ meetings in Minnesota.
The play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles is a variation of the quarterback sneak where a player lines up behind the quarterback and pushes him forward. The Packers motioned to ban the play shortly after they lost a Wild Card game to the Eagles in January and Green Bay president Mark Murphy cited player safety as the reason for the proposal during the league’s meetings in April.
The play has helped Philadelphia convert 90% of its short yardage situations since Nick Sirianni began using it in 2022 and has turned Jalen Hurts into a touchdown machine with 42 rushing touchdowns over the three-year span. By comparison, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the next closest signal caller with 34 rushing touchdowns but no other quarterback has more than 20 during that time period.
While the Eagles have a significant advantage that helped them win a Super Bowl and the Packers’ proposal had the backing of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the league collectively told Green Bay to figure it out, rejecting the proposal by the same 22-10 total that the Packers lost in the playoffs.
Regardless, the Packers have egg on their face after the proposal was denied and will have to find a way to stop the “Tush Push” without throwing the rule book at it.