The NFL offseason was a battlefield over one of football’s most polarizing trick plays: the “tush push.” It almost got vetoed. The NFL’s pitch to ban the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature quarterback sneak failed this May; the owners fell two votes short.

The ban needed 24 yes votes but got only 22. Denver’s owners, led by Greg Penner, voted for the ban, standing opposite the Eagles and nine other teams defending the tactic. Now, the Denver Broncos face the push play in Week 5.

And Sean Payton didn’t hold back on the “Tush Push” ban debate as the Broncos travel to Philadelphia this week. The Broncos’ head coach called out the health-and-safety argument as “bull—t nose kind of went up.” And he also added, “It might be the safest play in football.” 

Payton, who once joked about envying the play, said, “It’s just a version of the quarterback sneak, but with a little more to it.” He even jokingly said in 2023 that he was jealous the play wasn’t his creation. “Everyone is pushing, and it’s a scrum. Here’s one of the things you learn: You can’t control — if they vote to not allow it, then great. If they vote to leave it alone, then great. We’ll study it.”

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The “Tush Push” is basically a quarterback sneak with a team shove. It’s messy but effective. Payton knows it well, and his cold take cuts through the noise. For now, it’s staying. And Payton’s Broncos head to Philly to face the play’s masters.

Payton isn’t one to campaign loudly on football politics. He stated in 2023, “We’ll see what happens,” not being worried about the ban. “That’s something I don’t really worry about. If they allow it, then you look at how you can do it. If they don’t allow it, you move on and do something else.”

Since the vote fell short, the play stays legal through the 2025 season. As the Broncos prepare to square off against the Eagles’ high-powered offense, Payton’s appreciation for the play could shape how they defend against one of the league’s deadliest short-yardage weapons, as the Eagles just innovated a new push play.

Eagles keep innovating the Tush Push

Nick Sirianni and the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles proved in Week 4 why the tush push is evolving. Against Tampa Bay, the Eagles didn’t just lean on the classic push. They innovated. Saquon Barkley scored on a fake push play. Jalen Hurts threw a surprise underhand touchdown out of the same formation.

Sirianni was smiling after the game, clearly enjoying how the play excites fans and disrupts defenses. “People like this play. Then there are some things off of the play that make it really exciting,” Sirianni said. That’s debatable, though, because anyone who’s not an Eagles fan doesn’t appreciate the play that much.

Naturally, the push play remains under intense scrutiny, with NFL officials now directed to enforce the rules around the play more tightly than ever. The league’s recent training materials emphasize calling false starts and other infractions as strictly as possible. As Sean Payton prepares to take on the Eagles in Week 5, all eyes will be on how both teams execute and defend this controversial short-yardage tactic.