“It Gave Me Chills”: Cooper DeJean Reveals How Jalen Hurts & Other Veterans’ Speeches Fired the Eagles Up Before Super Bowl

The Philadelphia Eagles were the most complete team in the NFL in 2024, top to bottom. Arguably the best offensive line, the best running back and running game, two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers, an elite dual-threat QB, a monstrous defensive line, and the best pass defense in football. Even both of their first-year coordinators were among the best at their jobs.

But it wasn’t just their talent and strategic advantages that helped them dethrone the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs—it was the emotion as well. A significant portion of the 2024 Eagles roster had been there in 2022 (22 players, to be exact) when the Birds lost to these same Chiefs in Super Bowl 57. For many, it was about revenge.

For those who were not part of that heartbreaking Philly loss, like rookie CB Cooper DeJean, the speeches helped to contextualize the situation the team was in. They also shed light on how his new teammates felt after that defeat.

DeJean was especially moved by the fact that several teammates he rarely heard from stepped up to speak to the team on the eve of Super Bowl 59.

“It gave me chills, damn near made me emotional. Just watching those guys up there. Talking about their experience last time, and the way it made them feel. You hear Jalen talk and Saquon every once in a while, and BG (Brandon Graham). But those other guys, you don’t hear ’em talk like that or get emotional or get up in front of the team and say things like that,” said the star cornerback.

“I think that really inspired a lot of the guys in that meeting room, just seeing those guys get up there and talk and seeing the guys get emotional about how much this game means to them and how hard it is to get to that point,” he added.

The impassioned pleas of veteran players who had been there before were more than enough to fire up youngsters like DeJean, who didn’t know any better, to help their teammates get revenge and achieve their goals.

“I think it just inspired me. Even though it was the night before the game, I was ready to go. Ready to play right at that moment. Just seeing how the last game made those guys feel and not wanting them to feel that again. And I think everybody knew. We knew what we had. We knew who we were, who we are as a team. And we didn’t think it was gonna be close at all.”

DeJean and other players have spoken about those speeches as having a major impact on the team’s psyche as a whole. One could be excused for wondering what exactly was said. Well, no curiosity necessary.

Eagles’ inspiring pregame speeches

The Eagles filmed the team meeting and posted the clips online to their social media accounts after the Super Bowl. It’s awesome for fans and journalists to get the inside scoop on this sort of thing. However, it does take away somewhat from the mystery and privacy of a pro football locker room.

Nonetheless, after hearing the speeches, especially Hurts’ emotional monologue, it’s no surprise the Eagles came and jumped out to a 40-6 lead in the big game.

“The last time being here, that s**t changed my life. It changed my life and it changed my mentality, it changed everything. For so long, I was thinking, ‘What would I do when I got this moment again? What would I do when this opportunity met me again? On the biggest stage, everybody watching.’ And I didn’t get benched, I put on a good show. And I couldn’t have done that without you guys. But I left that motherf***er so empty. Don’t s–t else matter but winning.”

Veteran Lane Johnson, one of the very few who has been with the Eagles long enough to have been on the team that won a ring in 2017, took a different approach. Instead of talking about his own journey, he used some bulletin board material to specifically get the defensive line angry.

It worked: they sacked Mahomes six times and pressured him on nearly 45 percent of his dropbacks through the first three frames. All without blitzing even once.

“They’re a finesse team… man for man, they’re not just going to let us just tee off on them, because they will get f***ed up. And they’re gonna get f***ed up tomorrow. Just remember them f***ing shirts [‘0 sacks’] they had on at their parade a few years ago. Keep that in mind as y’all keep annihilating his ass tomorrow.”

Perhaps outspoken Eagles defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson said it best when he proclaimed, “We ain’t got to say s**t if we win it. Because our story is gonna tell itself.” He wasn’t wrong. Here we sit now, telling the story of the 2024 Super Bowl champion Eagles.