The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense is a mess, so much so that not even the tush push is working.

Late in the third quarter of Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, the Eagles had an opportunity to flip the game on its head. Down 10-9, Philly faced a third-and-1 at Chicago’s 12-yard line.

Without hesitation, the Eagles dialed up a tush push. But the controversial yet usually effective short-yardage sneak not only failed. It backfired big time.

As Jalen Hurts’ forward momentum was slowing down, Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright came off the edge and ripped the ball away from the Eagles’ quarterback. Chicago secured a critical takeaway and scored a touchdown on its ensuing drive.

Ever since its inception, the tush push has had its critics. Many have questioned whether or not it should be banned. Is it too dangerous? Is it too hard to officiate?

But now the question is, should the Eagles run the tush push anymore?

“It’s becoming tougher and tougher (to run effectively),” Hurts said postgame.

Prior to this season, the tush push was pretty much unstoppable. The Eagles’ signature QB sneak worked 92.3% of the time in 2022. It worked 88.1% of the time in 2023. And it worked 81.3% of the time.

But Hurts is right. This year, the tush push hasn’t been as automatic. According to tushpush.fyi, the play has worked 16 times on 26 attempts (61.5%) with three false starts.

Why hasn’t it worked as much? Well, a beleaguered offensive line doesn’t help. Right tackle Lane Johnson is out while center Cam Jurgens and left guard Landon Dickerson are playing through injuries. But teams are catching on, too.

In their Week 11 win over the Detroit Lions, the Eagles ran the tush push four times. It worked once for an early score. But it was stopped three times late in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were trying to ice the game.

There was also the lucky break in the Week 8 game against the New York Giants. Hurts had the ball stripped and recovered by Kayvon Thibodeaux. But the referees blew the play dead before the fumble, ruling that Hurts’ forward progress had stopped.

“I was hoping (my forward progress) was stopped. But it wasn’t,” Hurts said of the Bears fumble. “Kind of similar to the New York game. They just didn’t blow the whistle as soon. So that’s not to point the finger at anyone else. I’ve got to hold onto the ball.”

Hurts continued.

“(Ball security on the tush push) presents itself as an issue, and it always has. It’s just never gotten us. Today it got us. And it’s something that we and I have to tighten up.”

Or maybe it’s something the Eagles have to move away from.