Proposed tush push ban fails at owners meetings

EAGAN, Minn. — Facing stiff resistance around the NFL, the tush push managed to move the chains and gain a fresh set of downs.League owners narrowly failed to pass a proposal to prohibit the polarizing short-yardage strategy at their spring meetings in Minnesota on Wednesday, keeping the rulebook as is — and pleasing the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.The ban on offensive players from pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping or encircling a runner was supported by a 22-10 vote, according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings, speaking on condition of anonymity. That's two votes short of the three-quarters majority required by league bylaws to pass it.The health and safety committees for both the players and the owners and the league's competition committee all unanimously recommended the proposal, which was formally brought forward by the Green Bay Packers at the previous league meetings in Florida seven weeks ago and tabled for further discussion. Such a ban previously existed and was lifted 20 years ago because it was deemed too difficult to consistently enforce."We don't set a low bar," said Atlanta Falcons chief executive officer Rich McKay, the chairman of the competition committee. "There was a lot of support for it, a lot of discussion about it. I've been in that room numerous times where we've had these types of discussions, where one team ends up being, in their mind, more impacted than others. It still takes 24 votes, and in this case those votes were not there."Immediately after the vote, the Eagles posted a picture on social media of quarterback Jalen Hurts on the verge of a short-yardage attempt against the Packers with the caption, "Push on." Then they posted to their YouTube page a 26-minute tush push highlight montage.The NFL has no conclusive data supporting a connection between the tush push and an increased risk of injury, as Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has noted. He said he was pleased by the vote result but declined further comment.Commissioner Roger Goodell said he didn't take a stance and was instead simply focusing on fostering a "full discussion" of the issue of aiding quarterbacks in their plunges into the line.Division winners staying homeThe Detroit Lions withdrew their proposal to reseed teams for the playoffs — in order of record rather than awarding the first four spots to division winners — before a vote was taken.Like the tush push ban, this is an issue that could well come up again in the near future, particularly if an 18-game regular-season schedule is implemented. Goodell said there was no discussion of the additional game, which players oppose, during the meetings this week.In light of the drastic kickoff changes before last season that became permanent this year with some further alterations, owners approved Wednesday a tweak to the onside kick.With the goal of increasing the recovery rate, teams may now try them at any point in the game when trailing rather than just in the fourth quarter. Kicking team players, other than the kicker, can also move 1 yard forward to give them a better chance at the ball.