Why Jalen Hurts is the perfect QB for Philadelphia originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
All fans in this city want is someone who cares about this as much as they do.
Jalen Hurts might care about it even more.
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“I love the game and I know this city loves the game too,” Hurts said through a subdued grin on Sunday night. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Hurts, 24, proved that he wasn’t a robot after the Eagles’ 31-7 win over the 49ers to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. He led the crowd in the Eagles fight song, he celebrated with teammates and he puffed on a victory cigar in the corner of the Eagles’ locker room.
A few miles away, Eagles fans filled the streets in jubilation. The vaunted 49ers defense could not stop Hurts and the Eagles offense from scoring on Sunday afternoon like the grease on the poles in Philly could not stop some daring Eagles fans from climbing.
As all that was going on, Hurts sat behind a microphone in the bowels of Lincoln Financial Field, having completely wiped the smile from his face. And he tried to explain the emotions of earning a trip to Super Bowl LVII.
“We put a lot of work in to have this opportunity and to be here it’s a moment we want to enjoy as a team,” Hurts said. “We’re reflecting on everything we’ve overcome to have this opportunity in front of us and we want to take advantage of it. Want to take advantage of it. The atmosphere here tonight was amazing. The fans showed up with the energy, all of it and we need to bring that to AZ.”
Based on what we saw every time the Eagles hit the road during the 2022 regular season, there will be plenty of green in the stands of State Farm Stadium in less than two weeks. The Eagles are officially the home team in Super Bowl LVII and their fans are probably going to make it feel like that too.
The Eagles are now 16-1 with Hurts as their quarterback this season. And as he finishes up the third year of his rookie contract and becomes eligible for a contract extension, that mega deal seems inevitable.
During the regular season, despite missing two games, Hurts still threw for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions and he rushed for another 760 and 13 scores. He was a legitimate MVP candidate and is one of the finalists for the highest regular season individual award in the league.
And he won’t even turn 25 until August.
“He is a great young leader. He is a terrific young quarterback,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “When we drafted him, it was the upside we were banking on. We thought he had a huge upside. It takes a couple years. And somebody so dedicated as Jalen and such a great teammate. Inevitably he is going to maximize everything he has and that’s what he’s done.”
Of course, it was never supposed to be Hurts.
And he brought that up after winning the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
“My first year here (people) probably didn’t even want me here,” Hurts said. “It was probably one of those things. But it always handles itself.”
The Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round in 2020 to be the backup behind their franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. At the time, it was a polarizing pick. Why use a second-round pick on a guy who won’t even play unless something goes wrong?
Well, something went wrong. A lot of things went wrong in 2020.
Hurts took over the job, the locker room and eventually the city.
When asked about his comment that people “didn’t even want me here,” Hurts paraphrased his favorite Bible verse, John 13:7: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but you later will understand.”
Hurts is about to lead the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. Sometimes is seems like things just happen for a reason. And the Eagles ended up with the right guy as their franchise quarterback.
“Hopefully,” Hurts said, “people understand.”
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