Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) rushes for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Josh Allen breaks from Bills' paradoxical stance on heavily-debated NFL-wide issue

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ralph Ventre | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 3:02 PM ET

It's just another weapon in NFL MVP Josh Allen's unique arsenal.

The Buffalo Bills have nearly perfected their version of the "tush push." With Allen at the controls, the Bills successfully converted the play 16 of 17 times during the 2024 regular season. Their .940 conversion percentage was actually better than the Philadelphia Eagles .823 mark (28-of-34).

"If you don't like it, my advice is to stop it, you know?" said Allen in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this month.

Instead, teams attempted to ban the play this offseason through a proposal put forth by the Green Bay Packers. It fell two votes shy of the required 75 percent threshold, but the Bills are known to be one of the 22 teams who voted for the ban.

With Bills' head coach Sean McDermott currently serving the NFL's Competition Committee, his opinion on the proposal has been well documented and the ninth-year head coach has consistently cited safety concerns.

"My position hasn't really changed at all. I feel where I'm most concerned is even though there's not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is that of the health and safety of the players first and foremost," said McDermott at the league meetings during the final week in March.

Meanwhile, Allen is arguably the "Tush Push OG." Anyone who remembers the incredible fourth-down effort in the Bills' 2019 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, recognizes that Allen was successfully executing an iteration of the tush push before the Philadelphia Eagles even drafted Jalen Hurts.

"There's different forms of it out there. I know we are one of the teams that people identify that run it. That's fair. There's other teams as well. Look, we are always going to act in a way that's best for the health and safety of the players and I think that is the responsible way to go," said McDermott.

The Bills, however, did not have a player pushing the quarterback in the backside at that stage in the play's evolution. It was essentially an old-school QB sneak with the play's effectiveness hinging on Allen's brute strength and unwavering determination.

"I'm a big believer in if you can't stop it, keep running it, right? I think that there's a few teams that do it better than others, but then you look at a few teams that try to do it, and it doesn't have the same success. Because, one, they maybe don't practice it enough or, two, they don't have the guys to do it," said Allen, who has been nearly automatic converting short-yardage situations out of various formations.

With the "tush push" remaining permissible in 2025, one can expect it to remain in Allen's arsenal.

"And just because a couple teams do it better than others, I don't feel like it should be banned. I understand the merit of what it brings and so I don't really sway one way or the other. I try to play the game based on the interpretation of the rules. And if that was the rule that was passed, you know, we'll find a different way. But I feel like if you can use it to your benefit, use it to your benefit," said Allen.

Of course, it helps to have a 6-foot-5 quarterback with linebacker tendencies lining up under center on 4th-and-short.