Vikings took to extreme measures in trying to secure first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, and it backfired
The National Football League's owner's meetings took place in Minneapolis this week, and Wednesday's session was the most contentious of them all. It was when they decided whether or not to ban the tush push, popularized by the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles over the last few years. The push to ban the play ended up […]
The National Football League's owner's meetings took place in Minneapolis this week, and Wednesday's session was the most contentious of them all.
It was when they decided whether or not to ban the tush push, popularized by the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles over the last few years. The push to ban the play ended up failing with just 22 yes votes, as 24 are needed to make a change.
Vikings vote to ban the tush push
There were 22 teams that voted to ban the tush push with 10 believing that the play shouldn't be banned. Of those 10 teams, the Vikings weren't one of them.
That's right, the Vikings voted to ban the tush push.
It's an interesting choice to ban the play, especially since there allegedly isn't any data to show that the play is unsafe. There also isn't anything inherently illegal about the play either.
So, why would the Vikings choose to vote for banning the tush push? The likelihood is this: they don't want to deal with the play when they play the Eagles.
We don't know 100% for certain that the Vikings voted against it because they want an advantage, but what other reason is there? I suppose that safety concerns could be a reality if the Vikings have legitimate concerns, but not having to deal with the tush push would give the Vikings more of an advantage, especially with how strong their run defense is and the success they've had against the Eagles offense in the past.
With the Vikings' defensive line having been fortified, they won't need the same amount of help they did last year, but playing the Eagles would have been easier without having to deal with the tush push, especially on both third and fourth downs.
It's interesting that this was the path the Vikings chose, and if the reason comes out as to why, that will be even more interesting.
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