7 interesting facts about Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions head coach
Learn more about Dan Campbell, the dynamic head coach of the Detroit Lions.
The tush push isn’t going anywhere, and the Detroit Lions are part of the reason why.
NFL owners voted against banning the tush-push quarterback sneak play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles at their spring meetings, and ESPN reported the Lions were one of 10 teams in favor of allowing the play.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said at the NFL’s annual meeting in March he was against the ban.
The Green Bay Packers revised language in their original proposal to include outlawing all pushing or pulling of a ball carrier, a rule similar to one that was on the books before 2005.
“I’m of the school of − look, we don’t run that,” Campbell said in March. “Jared Goff, we’re not going to. It doesn’t mean we don’t quarterback sneak, but we don’t do that.
“But I am of the school of, ‘Hey, they found something and it’s for up to everybody else to stop it.’ So I’m of a hard yes (of keeping it in the rulebook).”
While NFL teams ran tush-push plays only a miniscule number of times last season − .28% of the time, according to ESPN – the play has proven nearly impossible to stop when for some teams.
The Eagles and Buffalo Bills, the two teams who use the play most often, combined to score a touchdown or convert for a first down on 87% of their attempts, according to ESPN.
The Lions play the Eagles this fall in a showdown of two of NFC’s top Super Bowl contenders.
Campbell said in March he expects the Eagles to run the play this fall and it will be up to the Lions to stop it.
“Philly obviously is known for this because they’re the ones who’ve really kind of perfected it and done it and do it over and over and I’m like, ‘Good for them,’” Campbell said. “And if you got something, we got to stop it.
“So like to me, leave it in and we play them this year, we got to find a way to stop it. And I like that.”
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.