Philadelphia – almost two years after the day, a family scene developed in Lincoln Financial Field.
The celebration spilled from the field to the locker room. The music hit and the players danced and the air was filled with a touch of chaos after a victory in the Eagles NFC Philadelphia championship game. In the corner after the right of the room was a stoic that pulls it hurts, pulling quietly on a giant cigar.
In 2023, he was the burning MVP candidate again in the scene, and his outfit coincided with the moment. He wore sunglasses, purple pants and a leather, a purple jacket of Michael Jackson-Prince, complete with zippers that run at half of the sleeves.
All-Pro Eagles QB1, MVP finalist, NFC champion
Jalen, 24, hurts in the victory pic.twitter.com/fjxi9e69J8
– Josh Tolentino (@jctsports) January 30, 2023
On January 26, after a 55-23 coup of the Washington commanders, Hurts celebrated this victory with more than a atmosphere of Michael Jordan-In-His-Veteran-Ayeles complete with Plected Caquisses, a black turtle neck and A championship of the conference turned back to replace the Kangol hat carried at the stadium. His play this season was equally modest: except for the moments that required more style.
Has not yet done@jalanhurts | #Flyeaglesfly pic.twitter.com/4ybgwfuqqu
– Philadelphia Eagles (@eagles) January 27, 2025
The results were ultimately the same: the Eagles are directed to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. Once again they will face the Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday at 6:30 pm et, Fox), establishing a rematch between Patrick Mohomes and Hurts, who possibly played the best game of his career in a close defeat of 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII.
It has been a different type of season for wounds. After a 2-2 start that included too many ball losses (seven of which were accused of the field marshal), the Eagles coaching staff changed to a more heavy Saquon Barkley attack. Hurts in turn assumed more than a role of game manager. He launched for more than 200 yards twice since mid -November. That approach promoted the questions about the state of the air game and if Hurts could increase it when asked.
He replied that decisively against Washington, going 20 of 28 for 246 yards for the air while accumulating four total touchdowns.
“How about QB1, man? “We always talk about limiting exterior noise or white noise, whatever you want to call it. But I know he listens to him and I think he plays better when he feels that people doubt it.”
With victoryThe wounds improved to 42-12 as a starter since 2022, only surpassed by Mohamses (48-10) on that section. Now he has a victory among the city of Philadelphia his second Lombardi trophy, a victory that would consolidate his case as a great time of Eagles and silence the critics who use their numbers to reduce it.
“Do not play the game for statistics. I do not play the game for numbers, no statistical approval of anyone else,” said Hurts. “And I understand that everyone has a preconceived notion of how they want it to be seen, or how they expect it to be seen. I told them that success is defined by that particular individual, and everything is relative to the person. And what I define as He is winning. “
In December, Barkley was trying to explain to his family what the wounds that make him so successful are treated.
He has won at each stop, from Channelview (Texas) High School to Alabama and Oklahoma (38-4 combined record) and now with the Eagles, with whom he has published a record of 46-20.
“I really don’t know how to explain it, but he has it,” Barkley said. “And they said: ‘Well, how do you explain it?’ I really don’t know, but you know when you see it. “
Shane Beamer saw it for the first time from the entire field as a member of the Technical Corps of the University of Georgia on January 8, 2018. His bulldogs were playing Alabama in the National Championship, the game where Nick Saban took out the wounds in the middle Time in favor of part time. Tua Tagovaila, who took the tide to a victory back and then assured the initial work.
“Simply be able to see how he handled that and how solidary it was for Tua in the second half, you realize that this guy is different,” said Beamer, now the chief coach of the South Carolina.
Beamer left Georgia to become an assistant chief coach in Oklahoma and obtained a look close to the intangibles of Hurts when he transferred in 2019 for his last university season.
Beamer said that most transfers tend to gradually acclimatize to their new environment, but with wounds, it was different. I was in OU less than a week before taking command of the team after a weight room session.
“The whole team joined in a circle to break it down and there were some boys who may talk too much, so he told them to force each other,” Beamer said. “And basically talked about the work that should be done.
“It has been here two days and it can already be the leader of this football team simply walking through the door.”
Hurts came from Alabama’s professional style offensive and had to quickly learn the Lincoln Riley air attack system. He was asked to use his most legs (he established personal maximums with 233 earth attempts for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns) and that he pushes the field down into the air, as evidenced by his career more than 12 aerial yards per attempt.
The wounds exploded for 52 TouchDowns that year. He finished second in Heisman’s vote behind Joe Burrow and took the Sooners to a 12-2 record.
Of all his moments with wounds during his time together on the stage of the university, it was a gesture of duels after the Eagles selected him in the second round in 2020 that is among those who resonate the most with Beamer.
“Jalen’s new year, my son was about 6 years old playing flag football and was the field marshal. He launched an interception that cost his team the game. He was distressed,” Beamer said. “I approached Jalen and Jalen called him and pumped it and told him that when you are a field marshal you will make mistakes and how you answer [is what matters]. Just to be willing to do something like that in the middle of his rookie season with the Eagles, he tells you everything about the guy.
“He is a special player, special person, and everything that adds to the factor ‘IT’.”
There are subtleties For the Hurts game that can go unnoticed.
As in the NFC championship game against the commanders, when Hurts made a couple of checks in the line to take the Eagles to a favorable call against what Washington was showing, which resulted in a launch to Barkley that was 60 yards For the marker.
Hurts has taken care of Pre-Nap’s tasks this season with the Jason Kelce center withdrawing. One of the main problems for the Philadelphia offensive last season was his struggles against Blitz. This season, Hurts occupies the second place in QBR against the Blitz with a 91 qualification.
Hurts has become more vocal in its fifth season of the NFL, some teammates said, a growth signal after sometimes closing in previous seasons, particularly in times of fall as the collapse at the end of last season.
“I know for him [there are] Some things where he [believes he] It can improve, “said defensive wing Brandon Graham earlier this season.” He was having fun, but even more now, just releasing. Because if I’m going to be type number 1 and people want to know about me, I think that’s what they are hugging this year, as I will make sure they listen to me. “
Even so, there is a stability of the Hurts approach that can have a soothing effect in agitated moments. An example came against the commanders when the supporter Frankie Luvu jumped on the scrimmage line and crashed with injuries several times in an attempt to counteract the thrust of Tush near the goal line.
“It was definitely all the mental war,” Mailata said. “Jalen did a tremendous job there to keep us fresh, calm, collected, only with all the things they were doing, the entire additional talk. [He] I kept changing the cadence about them and we had to remain locked up. The mental side of that, from my perspective, I was wearing them a lot. “
Occasionally, Hurts will let its burning lateral be shown in the field. It was revealed with 39 seconds in the second quarter of the NFC championship game after a pass to the right corner of the scoring area for AJ Brown for a TouchDown that put the Eagles 27-12 increased.
“That’s what I do!” Hurts shouted as he turned to the lateral line and gave coach Nick Sirianni a rich five. Hurts later joked Sirianni “let me out of my Jacket Strait today” after weeks of play plans for conservative and awareness passes of the rotation.
The Hurts game has not always been pretty this season, and it is fair to wait for more than an air game that includes games creators such as Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Hurts. But the general results are difficult to discuss, which is what matters most for the Hurts coach.
“I don’t want anyone to lead this team in the quartback not to be him. He is a winner,” Sirianni said. “This is so many criticisms that simply surprise me due to the questions I have to answer … It’s like, man, this guy wins. He has won all his life.”
The winning percentage of .697 of Hurts is the seventh best since the fusion of 1970, just following Mahomes, Tom Brady, Lamar Jackson, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning.
It has seven total touchdowns and zero gifts to this point of the postseason and has not launched an interception in seven consecutive playoff games, which is a NFL record. His nine touchdowns for postseason career in his career are the most important for a quarterback in the history of the NFL.
And now, Hurts and the Eagles are a victory when putting in bed.
“Be for him, he just wants to leave and show that people are wrong,” said Graham.
“People out of here may not like their game, but that is great; they have only been winning. So I hope it wins [the Super Bowl]It will help its cause because they are championships with people. Until one gets one, it is when everyone will put their backs a little. “