SB LIX: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts quiets the critics 

Right about now the only thing coming from Jalen Hurts’ haters are the sounds of crickets. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is now on his way to playing in his second Super Bowl over the last three years. 

Hurts had a walk-in-the-park game of completing 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown to guide the Eagles to a 55-23 win over the Jayden Daniels and the upstart Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game. 

By the way, Hurts also produced three more scores on the ground to lead Philadelphia’s offensive onslaught. Now, it’s on to Super Bowl LIX for Hurts and the Eagles. 

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) has now led his team to two Super Bowl games. Hurts and the Eagles will get a chance to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline

This is the fifth time in the franchise’s history that the Eagles will have the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl game. Philadelphia has only one win (1-4) in the other tries the Eagles have had in the Super Bowl. 

And the last time Hurts and the Eagles played in the championship game, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs got the best of them, coming up with a 38-35 win in Super Bowl LVII. 

Since then, Hurts and the Eagles went 11-6 the following season and got bounced from the postseason in the Wild Card playoff game. 

With the threat of his job as Philadelphia’s starting quarterback constantly being questioned, Hurts answered the bell and his critics with a resounding emphasis recording a 14-3 record during the 2024 regular season to win first place in the NFC East and re-establish themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders once again. 

The success of the Eagles allowed Hurts to get his mojo back. While his numbers were not elite, Hurts had more than a solid campaign, throwing for 2,903 yards to go with 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. 

He also rushed for 630 yards and 14 more touchdowns to add to his season-long statistical totals. That’s not too bad for a guy who has been written off in more ways than one. And now Hurts can bask in the joy of being able to play in a second Super Bowl. 

The road for Hurts and the Eagles was not an easy one. 

Before playing Washington for the third time this season, Philadelphia played like Harry Houdini and escaped a near upset from the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC divisional playoff game. Hurts now stands alone as the only quarterback in his class to make it to multiple Super Bowl games through his first five seasons. 

Hurts was drafted by the Eagles in the second round with the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) leads the 2020 NFL Draft Class of signal-callers in Super Bowl appearances. Hurts has now led the Eagles to two Super Bowl games. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline

In comparison to the success that he has enjoyed since he took over as the starting quarterback for the Eagles, Hurts has already topped first-round drafted quarterbacks Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers), Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins), Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers), and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) in Super Bowl appearances. 

Burrow is the only quarterback of that bunch to make it to the Super Bowl. Herbert and Tagovailoa haven’t even won a playoff game. Hurts is alone in Super Bowl appearances from that 2020 quarterback class. In his first Super Bowl, Hurts proved the moment and the stage was not too big for him. 

Hurts outperformed Mahomes and looked every bit of the game’s MVP with his 304 passing yards and four total touchdowns. The second time around, Hurts and the Eagles are hoping to flip that narrative as runner-up to Super Bowl champs. 

All those critics who have dogged Hurts about his playing style as a dual-threat quarterback since his college days at the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma, can go kick rocks. 

No other quarterback outside of Mahomes has played in multiple Super Bowls in the last five years except Hurts. The guy must be pretty special. 

Lead Photo Caption: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts fields questions from the media during an Opening Night press conference leading up to Super Bowl LVII. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline


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