Despite the best efforts of the Green Bay Packers and nine other NFL teams, both the Philadelphia Eagles and their controversial Tush Push are continuing to fly high heading into the 2025 season. Now that the ban has officially been vetoed by a 22-10 count, which was ironically the same score of the Packers’ wildcard loss to the Eagles, many are beginning to wonder what the next steps will be for both Philadelphia and the rest of the league.
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While many are searching for ways to replicate the play’s success or simply hoping to find a way to stop it, the self-proclaimed Jalen Hurts truther, Skip Bayless, is suggesting that the Tush Push’s success rate is directly tied to the presence of Jalen Hurts.
In fact, the former Fox Sports personality saw this as the perfect opportunity to take a victory lap on his prediction that Hurts would be a success in Philadelphia.
“I tweeted, the day he was drafted in the second round, that Howie Roseman stole him. That he would change life in Philadelphia. And that was during the Carson Wentz days when everybody loved Carson Wentz. I said no, this guy is the realest deal… I just love what he’s about. Love his leadership and intangibles. Not the greatest thrower of the football but good enough that he should’ve won two Super Bowls. They had Kansas City dead to rights, but Jalen Hurts is the tush push.”
According to Bayless, the Tush Push itself is nothing more than a “glorified quarterback sneak” and that “the push part is way, way overrated.”
Much of the success stems from the Eagles’ overwhelmingly huge offensive line. They averaged 6’6″ and 338 pounds last season, the largest group ever assembled on Super Sunday. But Hurts also plays a major role in the success of the play. His explosive lower-body strength and instincts make him perfectly suited for Tush Push.
While Skip did maintain that both the Eagles’ offensive line and coaching staff deserve their fair share of credit for having transformed the technique into a spectacle, Bayless is adamant that the true power of the Tush Push comes from the lower body of Hurts.
In light of his argument that the play is more predicated on the natural strength of Hurts, more so than anything else, Bayless noted that Hurts, in his own unique way, is perhaps more masterful of the QB sneak than anyone else. In this instance, that led to a glowing comparison for the Alabama product.
The former sports talk show host lauded Hurts’ ability to “will himself through defenses,” likening his savviness to that Tom Brady himself.
“Tom Brady was the best quarterback sneaker I ever saw, but he did with finesse, with brains, with guts, but not with the explosive athletic ability that Tom Brady has. But Tom Brady was virtually unstoppable on quarterback sneaks. This is a whole new way to do it. This is a power sneak and that was a brain sneak… This is a Jalen Hurts play.”
In the eyes of Bayless, the vote to ban the Tush Push was nothing more than a petty attempt to “legislate Jalen Hurts out of football.” Thankfully, for the sake of both Bayless and everyone within the city of Philadelphia, it failed.
Hurts may be far removed from the likes of Brady, but his discipline and dedication to the game of football certainly rivals that of the former New England Patriot. If he was ever going to catch him, though, now would be as good a time as any to start.
