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Jalen Hurts reached new levels this past season – he brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia.
Entering the season, heck, even entering the playoffs, the jury was out on the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, with many thinking he was a game-manager with legs on a sound roster.
But he turned it on in the playoffs – his Eagles put up 95 points in their final two games of the season, the NFC title game and Super Bowl.
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Retired Eagles player Brian Dawkins is honored during a game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 30, 2012, in Philadelphia. (Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images)
For Brian Dawkins, though, this isn’t necessarily a surprise. Dawkins knew that Hurts could silence the critics shortly after his career took an abrupt hit.
Hurts, of course, was benched in the 2018 national championship with Alabama, and Tua Tagovailoa took over. Tagovailoa threw the walk-off touchdown to, ironically, future Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
“When that happened, that taught me a lot about his character… That young man is who I saw being able to be introduced to Philadelphia and grow as a quarterback. And he’s still growing,” Dawkins said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
However, now that Hurts has a ring (and two Super Bowl appearances in three years), Dawkins expects more.
“For me, I’m baffled when people get mad when someone says Jalen is not playing to his potential. Certain games, he was not,” Dawkins said. “I’m someone that I’m always critical of myself on film. When I’m not at my best, I’m honest with myself. And I’m sure he’s the same way. If he is the same way, he’d say the same exact things.
“But what sets him apart is when he’s healthy, and he gets into those big environments, he plays at a different level. It’s a good problem, but when you flash that, people will always expect it. You gotta hold him to a higher standard.”
Dawkins spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of Boehringer & Lilly’s “It Takes 2” health initiative. The Eagles legend is spreading the word about how to look out for type-2 diabetes and kidney disease. Health was always top of mind during Dawkins’ Hall of Fame career, and nothing has changed in retirement. Now, he’s trying to help those who may need it, and urging them to get urine and blood tests to combat any health defects.
“Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure is something that my parents have. And so once I heard that, the rest of this information hit home for me. It’s those individuals that need to take different tests… they figure out if you are going down the path on developing kidney disease or cardiovascular risk as well. So, once I found that information out, being proactive, I wanted to make sure that my parents had this information and their caregivers have this information so they can get those tests. But also now I have this information, and I believe once I get information or wisdom, I’m supposed to share it. So that’s where this campaign comes in…
“If there’s someone that popped into your mind, then that person needs to go to testyourkidneys.com.”
Brian Dawkins attends the Rose Parade as part of the It Takes 2 campaign. (Boehringer & Lilly)
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Part of what makes Hurts so great, of course, is the tush push, which may or may not be barred. Teams have proposed getting rid of the play the Eagles were successful with over 90% of the time.
It’s often imitated, but never duplicated. No matter how hard other people try, they’ll simply never be as good as the Birds.
That’s their problem, Dawkins said.
“If you’re an Eagles fan, keep doing it! It’s tough to stop. It’s been stopped, it’s not 100%. Things happen – offensive line might slip, defensive line might be bigger. But for Jalen, he squats 600 pounds. Not every team has that element,” he said.
The Eagles run the tush push during the game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 16, 2024, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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As of now, it’s still allowed. And as long as that’s the case, expect to see it plenty on NFL Red Zone in 2025 and beyond.
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