Dan Quinn has the perfect response to the Tush Push controversy but it might not matter in a couple of months

There's another element to Quinn's response that elevates it from great to perfect and it's the fact that even if Quinn and the Commanders worked up a very persuasive argument in favor of banning the Tush Push, there's still zero guarantee a ban happens. The final outcome is out of their hands, so why not focus on what they can control, which is stopping the play while it's still legal?

The NFL tabled the conversation until the next round of meetings in May after Tuesday's vote was split at 16-16. There's a very real chance it gets banned in a couple of months and the currently-prevailing argument revolves around player safety. While there is zero evidence of any serious injury resulting from the play, the potential for serious injury is there and that's been the rallying cry this offseason.

“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 been used, especially a year ago,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters at the 2025 NFL Combine.

“I just feel like player safety, and the health and safety of our players, has to be at the top of our game, which it is.”

And while McDermott feels this way, there are coaches like Todd Bowles who aren't worried about the injuries since, well, a) it's football and b) they've yet to happen.

“The safety of it is always going to be a question because it’s a rugby-style play, but I have nothing against it,” Bowles said on Pro Football Talk Live back in March. “You found guys that are being creative and found the niche and how to gain an edge in this league and that’s what we as coaches try to do on a daily basis.

"Now it’s up to defensive coaches to try to gain an edge to try to stop it. That’s the challenge of it every time someone brings something new whether it’s offense or defense. I’m all for it that way.”

There isn't full data on the Tush Push, but the Eagles and Bills have ran it a combined 163 times over the last three years, according to ESPN research. That's more than the other 30 teams combined. When dividing that by the 102 combined regular season games each team has played, that comes out to 1.6 times per game. So, not only are the Eagles and Bills running it less than two times per game - the rest of the league is doing it at a far lower rate.

In other words: Should safety really be this big a concern over something that accounts for less than 3% of offensive snaps in a game?

Either way, this is far from over and we could be talking about a whole new ballgame after May's meetings. We'll see what happens.