RENTON, Wash. — One of the more unstoppable plays for the Super Bowl-bound Seattle Seahawks has roots in one of the most disappointing moments of their 2024 season.
It was in overtime of their Week 9 home loss to the NFC West-rival Los Angeles Rams.
On the first possession of the extra period, Seattle was eyeing a sudden-death touchdown. The Seahawks needed less than a yard from the Rams’ 16 to move the chains, but Kenneth Walker III was stuffed on third-and-1 and again on fourth-and-1. Penetration killed both plays, even as then-offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb fielded a heavy package on the second attempt. After the turnover on downs, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford ended the game with a four-play touchdown drive.
“We’ve got to be able to get a half yard in two shots,” coach Mike Macdonald said after that loss. “Great football teams convert third- and fourth-and-short, and right now we’re not doing that.”
The Seahawks would finish their first season under Macdonald with a 10-7 record but no playoff berth, having lost a tiebreaker to Los Angeles for the division title.
Fast-forward to Week 16 of this season, when the Seahawks hosted the Rams with first place in the division and control of the NFC’s No. 1 seed on the line. This time, it was Klint Kubiak calling plays.
And this time, when the Seahawks faced third-and-1 in the third quarter, Seattle’s offensive coordinator went to their new short-yardage weapon: the tush push. Or as fans have dubbed it, the “Barnyard.”
Tight end AJ Barner took the direct snap, and with shoves from running back Zach Charbonnet and fullback Robbie Ouzts, picked up the first down. Walker ripped off a 55-yard touchdown on the next play, giving the Seahawks a 14-13 lead before they prevailed 38-37 in overtime.
Barner has been one of the less-heralded factors in Seattle’s offensive success, adding seven touchdowns during a second-year breakout. One of those scores came via the “Barnyard,” which has produced an additional 13 first downs with only one failed attempt. The play that Barner has helped execute to near perfection has turned short-yardage situations from a struggle for the Seahawks in 2024 to a strength in 2025.
It could be a difference-maker in Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots.
“It’s been great,” Macdonald said of the tush push heading into the playoffs. “We’ve got to stay sharp with it and keep doing the things we’re doing. I’m sure there are some wrinkles off it that we can build off as well. But it’s an important part of our short-yardage package.”
THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES began using the tush push in earnest in 2022, adding their twists to a traditional quarterback sneak. Most notably: lining up a pair of players behind quarterback Jalen Hurts to help shove him across the line to gain. It has become the signature play in short-yardage situations for the defending Super Bowl champions.
But opposition to the play from other teams — ostensibly over player safety concerns — gained enough steam this past offseason for a proposed ban to be put to a vote in May. Most of the NFC was in favor of the ban, but it was two votes shy of the necessary 24 to pass. The Seahawks were not among the 10 teams that voted to keep the play, even though Macdonald and general manager John Schneider had previously expressed public support for the tush push.
“I think it’s a good play and we’ve got to defend it,” Macdonald said earlier in the offseason, “and maybe we’ll execute it one day.”
With the play allowed, and with one of their NFC counterparts still planning to use it to their advantage, the Seahawks decided they would as well.
The Seahawks had struggled in short-yardage situations last season, with their 58.8% (20-of-34) conversion rate on third- and fourth-and-1 ranking fifth worst in the NFL, according to ESPN Research. So after Macdonald hired Kubiak to replace Grubb, he had his new coordinator install the tush push — only with Barner running it and not quarterback Sam Darnold.
Why Barner?
“He’s big,” Macdonald said.
At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Darnold doesn’t have the same massive frame as Bills quarterback Josh Allen (6-5, 237), whom Buffalo uses regularly on tush pushes. Hurts (6-1, 223) is built like a running back and can squat 600 pounds.
During his time as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, Macdonald had seen Baltimore occasionally use 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end Mark Andrews on tush push plays. Macdonald thought Barner, who’s 6-foot-6 and 251 pounds, could handle Seattle’s version.
“I don’t ask for much,” said Macdonald, who runs Seattle’s defense, “but that was something I asked for from our offense.”
The Seahawks kept the play mostly under wraps all offseason. The first time they ran it outside of closed practices was with rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe in the preseason. But they had long been planning to use Barner in that role. Their 2024 fourth-round pick had played quarterback his first two years at Aurora High School just outside of Cleveland, so he was no stranger to taking snaps.
“This is a decision we made in the spring, and it’s credit to everybody involved,” Macdonald said. “There’s ball handling involved, and the ball is really important, so you want to make sure you take care of that, first and foremost. So they’ve taken a lot of snaps over the course of the offseason and he’s willing to put in that extra work, which has been a credit to him.”
Between the regular season and playoffs, the Seahawks have converted 10 of 11 tush push attempts, all on either third-and-1 or fourth-and-1. Barner, channeling his QB past, has been effective enough with hard counts to draw the defense offside four times.
In addition to the one touchdown Barner scored via that play, the other 13 first downs it generated extended 11 scoring drives, including four that resulted in TDs.
Darnold has lined up deep in the backfield on every tush push and has stayed there, safely away from the fray. One idea in keeping him on the field is that while it sacrifices a would-be blocker/pusher, it doesn’t telegraph that the tush push is coming. It also gives Seattle the opportunity to pivot back to a play with Darnold under center.
“AJ is a leader on our offense,” Kubiak said. “He’s a guy that we can all rely on. If it’s not going to be the quarterback handling the ball, then AJ’s done a heck of a job with it. He’s a physical guy. That’s just something that started in April and we’ve got a lot of practice reps at it.”
BARNER WAS CONSIDERED more of a blocker than a receiver entering the 2024 draft, having caught only 22 passes during his final college season while helping Michigan win a national championship. But he has become a complete tight end in two NFL seasons.
As a rookie, he had produced more in the passing game than many expected, finishing with 30 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns. The promise he showed factored into Seattle’s decision to release veteran Noah Fant this past summer in a cost-cutting move, which elevated Barner to Seattle’s starter after he served in the No. 2 role in 2024.
Barner took a significant leap as a receiver in 2025, more than doubling his rookie yardage total with 519 during the regular season, third most on the team. His 52 catches and six receiving touchdowns were both second most to Pro Bowl wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Despite appearing on the Seahawks’ injury report in seven of the 10 weeks they produced one leading up to their divisional round win over the 49ers, Barner has played in all 19 games
“I like to play physical … and that can take a toll on your body,” he said. “But all good on my end. Whatever I’ve got to do to be ready for game time is going to happen.”
That includes spending time in a hyperbaric chamber, massage therapy and acupuncture. Over this past offseason, it included training with Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell.
After connecting with NFL reporter and training guru Jay Glazer, Barner began working with the UFC legend at Proactive Sports Performance in the Los Angeles area, where the tight end now spends much of his offseason time.
“I have a wrestling background, and when I’m at my best, I’m really in that UFC mindset of kill or be killed,” he said. “Not that it’s that, but it’s intense, and when I channel that and play with that energy, I think I play my best. So I was able to get some work in with those guys in the offseason. … There’s not many people that do that, so I feel like it gives me the upper hand.”
Barner used those sessions — roughly 10 of them, each lasting about an hour — to supplement his normal workout routine.
“A lot of grappling, a lot of leverage stuff, and just working out with the freaking ‘Iceman,’ dog,” Barner said. “It was sick. Talking to him about what’s it like [as a fighter] when the lights go out and you walk out. It’s great work.”
Among the ways that work has paid off is with the tush push, a play in which leverage is paramount.
Thanks in part to the tush push, the Seahawks have converted 26 of 36 attempts on third- or fourth-and-1 over their 19 games. Their regular-season conversion rate on such plays (73.5%) was eighth best in the league. Charbonnet was responsible for five of their conversions, and of his team-high 12 rushing touchdowns, six were from 1 or 2 yards out.
The Seahawks lost Charbonnet for the remainder of the playoffs after an ACL tear in the divisional round, which means more of their short-yardage plan could be on Barner’s plate in Super Bowl LX.
The Patriots’ defense, despite allowing the fourth-fewest points and the eighth-fewest yards during the regular season, has allowed opponents to convert 33 of 42 tries (78.6%) on third- or fourth-and-1 over their 20 games.
Barner said he’d “love to” run a tush push in the Super Bowl.
“Hopefully we get it called,” he said. “It’d be super awesome to do it on that stage.”
