Payton Defends Tush Push as QB Sneak After Failed Ban Vote

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton defended the so-called Tush Push this week, saying he stood against attempts to ban the short-yardage tactic and calling it effectively a quarterback sneak, as his team prepares to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5 at Lincoln Financial Field. Payton made the comments at a Tuesday news conference after NFL owners this spring fell two votes short of changing the rule to prohibit players pushing a ball carrier forward.

The owners vote needed 24 yes votes to pass but recorded 22 in favor and 10 opposed. The league and several teams had cited player health and safety among reasons to eliminate the play. Payton said he found that rationale unconvincing. "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," he said. "Look, it's a quarterback sneak."

The Tush Push is a variation on a quarterback sneak in which teammates behind the ball carrier provide a coordinated shove to gain inches or cross the goal line. The play drew national attention this season after the Eagles used it successfully against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 and again in Week 4, when...