To understand the Tush Push, start with the league’s most valuable backside. Jalen Hurts’s lower half isn’t like most lower halves. His legs extend from his midsection like sequoias that are the envy of their forest, fortified by a lifetime in sports and his high school hobby of powerlifting.
Hurts squats more than 600 pounds and could, according to those who train him, surpass 750 if he focused solely on strength. His coaches find his lower half more impressive than his arm, which can chuck footballs country miles. If that lower half isn’t the strongest among NFL quarterbacks, it’s in the top three.
There’s no scarier sight for defenses in 2023. The Eagles face a third- or fourth-and-short. They pack in together at the line, as Hurts scans the defense. The ball snaps. He moves, inching ahead, behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. When his movement stops, help arrives, in the form of one or two teammates lined up behind him whose sole goal is to target his buttocks and, well, push, as hard as possible.
