Sean Payton defends Eagles’ controversial tush push as safest play

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has to figure out how to stop it this week, but he has no problem with the Philadelphia Eagles’ patented, and controversial, tush push play. 

In fact, for all those believing the play could result in player safety issues, Payton thinks the exact opposite. 

“The reason I stood up in favor of it is pretty simple,” he said, via Sports Radio 94WIP. “If the powers to be don’t want it for aesthetic reasons or competitive reasons, you know, [that] it’s hard to officiate etcetera … but I’ve been involved in those meetings for a long time, and when all of a sudden health and safety was pulled into that – which might be the safest play in football – my bulls— nose kind of went up.”

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Payton was a member of the NFL’s competition committee in the past, and the way he views the play is a different version of the quarterback sneak. 

But others don’t share the same views as Payton, and the play created headlines all year, both in pre- and regular-season conversations. The biggest one was when the Green Bay Packers formally submitted a proposal to ban the play from the league. However, the vote by NFL owners fell short, as they had 22 with 24 needed to pass the ban. 

EAGLES’ SAQUON BARKLEY SCORES ON FAKE TUSH PUSH PLAY AS PHILLY WINS ON ROAD

The league had to once again gear up for another season where the Eagles would certainly use their short-yardage advantage, and it’s been prevalent all year as the team remains undefeated through four weeks. 

But there has been more controversy, with the NFL acknowledging earlier this season that officials missed false-start penalties by the Eagles’ offensive line on plays that ended up going in Philadelphia’s favor. It was said the play would be officiated more closely moving forward. 

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton walks out the tunnel before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew/Imagn Images)

And if that wasn’t hard enough, the Eagles pulled out a different variation of the play in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the third quarter, rather than the usual push of quarterback Jalen Hurts, he handed the ball off to running back Saquon Barkley, who went untouched for a touchdown that put the Eagles up 31-13 at the time. They would go on to win 31-25 to move to 4-0. 

The Broncos’ defense is coming off a stellar performance against a struggling Cincinnati Bengals offense, as they held them to just three points in a 28-3 beatdown at home to get back in the win column. Denver is now 2-2 on the year. 

To keep their win streak alive, Payton must scheme a nearly perfect game considering how the Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champions, have played to start the campaign. And that means potentially finding the kryptonite to their Superman-level tush push. 

Head Coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos during warm up against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

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Payton won’t complain about it – he’ll just get working to try to stop it.  

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