Bills' Josh Allen defends controversial 'tush push' play despite his team voting to ban it
Josh Allen is not seeing eye-to-eye with his own team about one of the biggest controversies in the sport.
The Buffalo Bills were one of 22 teams to vote to ban the tush push – 24 were needed to officially make the play illegal.
However, the quarterback himself, who has a knack for finding the end zone with his legs himself, said he believes that it should remain a part of the game.
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"I'm a big believer in if you can't stop it, keep running it, right?" Allen told Sports Illustrated.
"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. 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. If you don't like it, my advice is to stop it, you know?"
The Green Bay Packers initiated the rule-change proposal, which would have prohibited "an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap." The proposal added that a penalty would be assessed on any offensive player who violated the rule.
Proponents of the play and those who oppose it both presented strong arguments, while the league expressed worry about safety.
Rich McKay, the NFL Competition Committee chair, said in April the issues go beyond safety, because there was not enough data to say whether it is a dangerous play. The league has said there have been no injuries reported from the tush push.
Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu called the play "cheap."
During the tush push meeting with owners, Philadelphia Eagles team owner Jeffrey Lurie reportedly brought Jason Kelce into the meeting to explain why the tush push should be kept in the game. The Eagles have had the most success with the play over the last few years, and Kelce’s input was apparently enough for owners to forgo approving the ban.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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