Denver’s Sean Payton backs Eagles’ ‘well-run quarterback sneak,’ while Pat Surtain praises Quinyon Mitchell

The Eagles haven’t played the Broncos since 2021, and Denver hasn’t taken a trip to Lincoln Financial Field since 2017. A lot has changed for both teams since those meetings, including the coaching staffs and the star players.

Without a ton of history to go off, all they’ve got is tape. Here’s what the Broncos are saying about the matchup ahead of Sunday’s game …

The Eagles are elite in one-score games, going 7-2 in those games in 2024, good for third-best in the NFL, and the Birds have already won four one-score games in 2025.

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So far, the Eagles have executed in all three phases and always find that clutch play.

“We just talked about it, they’re doing a great job with the turnover ratio,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said. “I think they’ve only given the ball away one time in the last four weeks. They’re taking it away. Their special teams, they have the blocked punt last week, blocked field goal, all three phases are doing a great job. That’s one of the reasons they’re the champion.”

Payton is the latest coach who wants it on the record that he’s all good with the Tush Push.

“If the powers to be don’t want it for aesthetic reasons, or competitive reasons, or it’s hard to officiate, etc. — I’ve been involved in those meetings for a long time, and when all of the sudden health and safety was pulled into that, which might be the safest play in football, my B.S. nose kind of went up,” Payton said. “It’s a quarterback sneak, and credit Philadelphia … I’m one that looks at it as long as the line of scrimmage is clean, that it’s a well-run quarterback sneak.”

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown, the ‘most selfless receiver in the NFL?’ Are the Eagles real contenders? Here’s what they’re saying

Star Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain will see a lot of A.J. Brown on Sunday, so if all the conversation around Brown leads to more targets on Sunday, no one stands to lose or gain more than Surtain.

He joked on a podcast that he’s confident a player like Brown will get it figured out — but don’t expect those numbers to come against him.

“If they are frustrated, shoot, let them be frustrated,” Surtain said. “But I know they’re going to figure it out for sure. I mean, obviously, you know he’s a great player, so I know they’re going to give him the ball, they’re going to fix it. But not [this] week.”

Surtain also praised second-year Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, ranking him as one of the league’s top five cornerbacks. “He’s been dominant, man. From what I’ve seen from him on film, he’s a baller for sure. He nice, he nice,” Surtain said.