Bills using tush push in playoffs has Eagles fans crying foul

In the fallout of the Buffalo Bills' Wild Card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles began firing off at Sean McDermott, Josh Allen, and the Bills for utilizing the tush push to great effect.

The Bills ran the tush push four times in the fourth quarter, converting each time, including the game-winning touchdown from Josh Allen. Of course, the Bills were one of 22 teams to vote in favor of banning the play during the offseason. Flash-forward to the postseason, and the Bills are one of the league’s most frequent users of the play and are leaning on it successfully through their playoff run.

While Philly fans had more to worry about by the end of Sunday night, after the reigning Super Bowl champions were ousted from the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, their criticisms of the Bills change of perspective on their play probably isn’t going away.

If the league won’t ban it, why wouldn’t the Bills use the tush push?

After the game, Eagles analyst Shane Haff was one of many Eagles supporters to point out McDermott’s hypocrisy for using the play.

During the offseason, McDermott voiced his disapproval of the play being used, citing it as a dangerous play for quarterbacks and all involved.

“My position hasn’t really changed at all. Even though there’s not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is the health and safety of the players,” he said.

Considering the list of injuries Allen was dealing with in the fourth quarter, it’s fair to see where Eagles fans are coming from with the hypocritical accusations. Still, there’s a game to win, and if Allen is willing to put his body on the line, and the Bills are willing to run the play and do so effectively, the fact that the franchise voted to ban the play starts to feel meaningless.

After all, the success rate of the play encourages every team to use it if the league can’t agree to ban it. It’s a copy-cat league, as they say. If the Bills feel they can utilize the play and it’s legal, they should run it.

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Run it they did, even showing how to really get the job done with the play. O’Cyrus Torrence and others pushed and then carried Allen another 10 yards down to the goalline. That single play raised the Bills’ chances of winning from 27% up to 77% according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Against the Bills’ interest and that of 21 other teams, the league deemed the play legal. Punching at the team that has found success with it, despite their initial stance, seems like a waste of energy. The tush push may not be the Eagles’ secret weapon anymore, but with Josh Allen getting the push this postseason, no one should feel more confident in short-yardage situations than the Bills.

And if it helps the Bills win the Lombardi Trophy, the team and its fanbase should offer those who disagree with their usage of the tush push with the same amount of apology the Eagles did in their two trips to the Super Bowl with the play at the forefront. That’s to say, they’ll find no apology in Western New York.