Despite plenty of backlash and calls for a change, two of the NFL’s most unpopular rules will reportedly stay in place for at least another year.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL does not plan to adjust the highly-scrutinized rule in which if an offensive player fumbles the football through the end zone, it’s a touchback for the opposing team.
On top of that, Pelissero reports that the league will also not ban the “tush push” play that has been almost impossible for opposing defenses to stop since the Philadelphia Eagles have been using aplenty with Nick Sirianni Jalen Hurts.
Pelissero said that the fumbling-through-end-zone-touchback play happened four times in more than 40,000 plays, and the rule committee doesn’t view it as something that needs to be adjusted:
“No changes expected to the rule on a fumble through the end zone being a touchback. Only happened four times in over 40,000 snaps last season and the feeling is it’s a product of poor technique.
“QB push play is still a concern for the health and safety committee, but injury rate is low. There were 299 sneaks last season — most in modern NFL history — and success rates were actually slightly higher without a push.”
This obviously is not going to sit well for the many fans, players and coaches who have called for a) the fumbling-through-end-zone rule to be scrapped and for b) the almost unstoppable “tush push” to be banned.
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Here’s how some of them reacted to the news:
Now, this doesn’t mean that the NFL will permanently keep the two rules intact. It’s always possible that they’ll review it and make a change on one or both rules next year.
The fumbling-touchback rule reared its ugly head again when Mecole Hardman of the Kansas City Chiefs committed the mistake in the club’s Divisional Round tilt against the Buffalo Bills. Thanks to the Chiefs holding on for the victory anyway, that rule avoided further backlash from fans.
