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 abo

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