NFL Rule Proposals Include Brotherly Shove Ban

The NFL released rule change proposals submitted by teams ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday, which included a proposed ban on the Eagles’ “Brotherly Shove” play.

The play, which has been a hot-button topic across football, involves players pushing quarterback behind the offensive line in the hopes of obtaining an extra yard or two. The play is often used on third and fourth downs with one yard to go.

Following the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2022, voices in the national media were beginning to call for the league to discard the play. Rumors of a proposal to ban the play by the competition committee were quickly quashed ahead of the 2023 NFL season.

The Eagles were the team that perfected this play, mostly due to having an offensive line that routinely dominates at the line of scrimmage and a quarterback that can squat 600 pounds. Other teams have used it with varying degrees of success.

Following a 2023 game against the Miami Dolphins, Nick Sirianni made a plea to the league.

“Don’t ban this play,” Sirianni remarked. “Like if everyone could do it, everybody would. Where is the camera? If everybody could do it, everybody would do it.”

The Eagles submitted a rules proposal to align the overtime rules in the regular season to those of the postseason. During the regular season, overtime lasts 10 minutes and affords each team the opportunity to possess the ball unless a touchdown or a defensive score is made on the first drive. In the postseason, overtime is 15 minutes and both teams have a chance to possess the ball unless a defensive score occurs on the first drive.

The Detroit Lions also submitted a proposal to end the automatic first down as a part of defensive holding penalties.

All proposals will be voted on in the league’s annual meeting in March 2025.