Eagles' Have An Ally When It Comes To The Tush Push

The Philadelphia Eagles gave the Denver Broncos and their head coach Sean Payton something to think about with a twist out of the tush push formation in Tampa.

Sep 28, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Sean Payton gets it. The tush push is a glorified version of a quarterback sneak. Nothing more, nothing less. So, it doesn’t bother the Denver Broncos coach that the Eagles use it. He told The Denver Post that he “stood up in favor” of the play this spring when the NFL considered banning it.

“It's pretty simple,” he told reporters in the Mile High City on Tuesday. “The powers that be don't want it for aesthetic reasons or competitive reasons or because it's hard to officiate, etc., 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 (b.s.) nose kind of went up. Look, it's a quarterback sneak.”

Though it wasn’t a quarterback sneak in Tampa on Sunday. The Eagles lined up in the tush push position when they faced a third-and-one from the Buccaneers’ 6-yard line in the third quarter. Instead of Hurts plowing into the pile, he turned around and handed it to Saquon Barkley for a walk-in touchdown. The running back’s third rushing score of the game gave the Eagles a 31-13 lead.

It's About The Technique, Not The Push

Sep 29, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton calls a play from the sideline during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“It was a sweep to the left," said Payton. “I'm one that looks at it, as long as the line of scrimmage is clean, it's a well-run quarterback sneak. And when you really evaluate it, it's more the technique of the sneak than the push.”

Nick Siriani was asked about the play after the 31-25 win was secured.

“Everything we do is a team effort but it’s an exciting play,” said Sirianni, who will forever defend the tush push, about the Barkley sweep out of that formation. “It makes it pretty exciting, right?”

The coach explained that when the Eagles’ team buses were going from the hotel to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday morning, he was watching the Steelers-Vikings game being televised from Dublin, Ireland, when a Pepsi commercial came on his screen.

“(The commercial) was of them going, ‘Hey, when in Philly’ and they’re sneaking it (from a tush push formation). People like this play. Then there are some things off of the play that make it really exciting. It seems like people and fans really like the play, and it was pretty exciting today to get two touchdowns that come off of it that make that play what it is.”

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