National Football League

Hurts So Good: Jalen Hurts silences critics in leading Eagles back to Super Bowl

Updated Jan. 26, 2025 8:49 p.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — He had been the subject of too many stories and too many hours of talk radio all season long, but it all seemed to be more intense in the last few weeks. There was so much worry about his abilities, so much criticism and so much angst. There was too much doubt about whether Jalen Hurts was still the Jalen Hurts of old.

Nick Sirianni had heard all of it, just like he always has. And for the Philadelphia Eagles coach, it has grown more tiresome than ever. So when he got the chance, with 3:53 left in an NFC Championship Game that was long since over, he called timeout to pull Hurts from the game and give his quarterback a curtain call. He wanted to give him the moment he deserved — and maybe even needed — to finally hear the complaints drowned out by the cheers.

"It's amazing how much doubt there is sometimes," Sirianni said. "I can't quite comprehend it. Because it doesn't look like people think it should look like? But the guy has been clutch. He has won a ton of football games.

"We don't care how it looks. He just continues to win. I think the criticism is … whatever. He just wins."

Hurts won again big on Sunday. He won over the often-skeptical Philadelphia fan base and he won his second trip to the Super Bowl in three years, leading the Eagles to a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for three touchdowns too, as the Eagles booked their trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.

There is no one inside the Eagles organization who doubted Hurts was capable of a performance like that. But on the outside, there seemed to be nothing but doubt. In his two playoff games, Hurts looked rusty at best, limited at worst, and lost for those in a panic. He had missed the last two games of the season after suffering a concussion on Dec. 22. He returned for the playoffs not looking at all like himself.

It was fine, though, because the Eagles won both games, even though Hurts had turned into a game manager, throwing for a total of 259 yards in two postseason games. They were perfectly capable of running over the competition on Saquon Barkley's back.

But at some point, it figured they were going to need more from him if they were going to continue their quest to avenge their loss in the Super Bowl two years ago.

And on Sunday, they got it all.

"I love when people doubt him," said Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata. "We always talk about limiting the outside noise or the white noise, whatever you want to call it. But I know he hears that. And I think he plays his best when he feels like people doubt him.

"That's when he does stuff like he did today."

Hurts did everything in this championship game. He joked that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore "let me out of my straight jacket a little bit" and put more of the game plan in his hands. And Hurts delivered, answering every one of the lingering questions hovering over him. He showed everyone he still had the touch, rediscovering his accuracy on throws both short and deep. And after connecting on just three passes with his No. 1 receiver, A.J. Brown, in the first two playoff games despite throwing to him 10 times, he reignited that powerful connection too, hitting him six times (on eight throws) for 96 yards and a touchdown, too

Philadelphia Eagles' NFC Championship Trophy Ceremony

What was most impressive, though, was he looked like the old Hurts with the way he moved around inside and outside of the pocket. He did not look mobile at all in the first two playoff games, outside of a 44-yard touchdown run early in the divisional-round win over the Rams. He suffered an injured left knee late in that game, which forced him to wear a brace and left many wondering if he would be missing that key part of his game.

But he wasn't missing anything. He only ran 10 times for 16 yards in this one, letting Barkley carry the ground game with 118 yards. But the quarterback dazzled with his ability to escape a sometimes fierce Washington pass rush. He kept a step ahead of the defenders, even if it was to just get out of trouble and throw the ball away. He created plays outside the pocket too. He kept the defense off balance.

That's what Hurts was so good at two years ago when he led the Eagles to their last Super Bowl and was very nearly the NFL MVP. And the Eagles knew it was all still there, just ready to pop out in a big game.

"I think he's just made for those moments," Mailata said. "His whole demeanor. Everyone always gives him stink about wishing he would crack a smile here and there. But because of his cool, calm, collectiveness, he's able to just be in the moment, make plays, make sure that we're all on the same page.

"That's why he plays the way he does in the big moments when we need him."

And when they don't need him? That's OK, too. That's always been OK with Hurts and the rest of the Eagles, who don't care that his performance doesn't always look spectacular. While the world around him bit their nails, there was no panic in the locker room about his performance in the first two games of the playoffs.

To his coaches and teammates, he didn't have anything to prove. And they couldn't believe that anyone, anywhere thought that he did.

"He deals with so much criticism which just blows my mind," Sirianni said. "The questions I have to answer, I'm like ‘This guy wins. He's won his entire life.' Winning at quarterback is more important than any stat. He wins. He's a winner. He doesn't care about anything other than winning.

"And I know that. That's selfless."

And that's Jalen Hurts.

"I don't play the game for stats," Hurts said. "I don't play the game for numbers or any statistical approval from anybody else. I know everyone has a preconceived notion for how it's supposed to look."

And he doesn't care. He defines success by only one way. The Eagles won their first two playoff games, so they were successful. They won again on Sunday, but it didn't make it any more special to him because of the way he played.

He is now headed to the Super Bowl for the second time in his five-year career. And his goal two weeks from now will be the same as it always has been. He's not looking for style points. He's not looking to prove his value. And he doesn't care if he has to carry the Eagles or just sit back and manage the game.

His definition of success is the same as it's been since as far back as he can remember.

"What I define it as is winning," Hurts said. "The No. 1 goal is to come out and win."

And if he keeps winning, even those doubters will surely, eventually come around.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.