Payton: Tush push may be safest play in football

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- With a travel to Philadelphia adjacent connected the Denver Broncos' agenda, number manager Sean Payton successful arsenic a vocal protagonist of the Eagles' tush propulsion play.

The Broncos (2-2) look the Eagles (4-0) Sunday (1 p.m. ET) astatine Lincoln Financial Field.

"I was 1 that stood up successful favour of [it],'' Payton said Tuesday. "The crushed I stood up successful favour of it is beauteous simple, if the powers to beryllium don't privation it for aesthetic reasons oregon competitory reasons, you know, [that] it's hard to officiate etc ... but I've been progressive successful those meetings for a agelong clip [and] erstwhile each of a abrupt wellness and information was pulled into that -- which mightiness beryllium the safest play successful shot -- my bulls--- chemoreceptor benignant of went up.''

Payton pointed to the Eagles' wide proficiency of the play and besides referenced Philadelphia's 3rd 4th touchdown successful the Eagles' 31-25 triumph Sunday implicit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With 3 minutes, 57 seconds near successful the 3rd quarter, the Eagles lined up successful the present acquainted tightly bunched enactment and past alternatively of powering backmost Jalen Hurts up the middle, Hurts spun and pitched the shot to moving backmost Saquon Barkley connected a expanse for a 6-yard touchdown run.

It gave the Eagles a 31-13 lead.

"Look, it's a backmost sneak and I deliberation recognition Philadelphia,'' Payton said. "... I'm 1 who looks astatine it arsenic agelong arsenic the enactment of scrimmage is cleanable that it's a well-run backmost sneak. And erstwhile you truly measure it, it's truly the method of the sneak much than the push. You spell each the mode backmost to Green Bay and Dallas successful the Ice Bowl (the 1967 NFL Championship Game) and fricking Bart Starr crossed the goal-line with idiosyncratic pushing a small spot of down him.''