First popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles, the play has grown in use and variation over the past four seasons, with some adopters (Seattle, Pittsburgh, Green Bay) replacing their quarterbacks with bulkier tight ends to take snaps and surge forwards. Some clubs have also implemented creases that have fooled defenses into believing they are lining up for a scrum and instead execute a throw sweep or finish, which occasionally involves a huge goal play.
Ironically, one of the play’s biggest public opponents, former Bills coach Sean McDermott, turned to the play to win a playoff game in January, asking superstar quarterback Josh Allen to run it not once, but twice to score the game-winning touchdown in Jacksonville on Wild Card Weekend. As they did in the 2024 season, Buffalo used the play extensively in 2025, even after McDermott publicly championed its elimination from the game under the guise of player safety concerns.
As the fight dragged on a year ago, discussion of the play grew in intensity and frequency, becoming a fierce debate that was unusually intense among the league’s owners. By the time it came time to make a final decision, the issue had taken on an identity that looked more like a midnight parliamentary vote than a rule change in professional soccer.
The narrow life of the play didn’t completely stop the debate, either, as the debate turned into one that also included an unusual amount of attention to potential false starts committed by offensive linemen during the 2025 season.
Maybe tiredness can be a good thing. It seems that much of the football world is tired of debating the legitimacy of a changed full-back snoot in 2026 and wants to deal with more important matters in the coming months (playoffs, perhaps?). McKay added that he doesn’t expect many proposed rule changes this offseason — “the game is in a good place,” he told Battista — but there is time for a brave club or two to rock the boat with new submissions.