With the Kansas City Chiefs selling out to stop Saquon Barkley on the ground in Super Bowl 59, the Philadelphia Eagles needed their undercelebrated quarterback to step up. And boy, did Jalen Hurts answer the call.
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Hurts threw just five incomplete passes en route to 200+ passing yards and a pair of TDs in the game. He also added 72 yards on the ground along with another score. That was good enough to earn him the Super Bowl MVP trophy.
And yet, as various pundits and publications roll out their lists of the top QBs heading into 2025, Hurts is often ranked surprisingly low, or absent altogether. That doesn’t bother him, though. He has a larger goal in mind, something that was set after the Super Bowl loss in 2022.
Hurts has always been as cool as a cucumber, and now that he’s won the NFL’s ultimate prize, he’s even more so. At his first training camp press conference this week, Hurts was asked whether he would try to “open up” his game more and put up gaudier numbers now that he’s earned a Super Bowl.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Hurts has no time for that mindset. “No. I’ve gone a very long time being told I gotta do it a certain type of way. That didn’t get me the win when I did it how everyone told me to,” he said.
“When you put so much energy into [personal] performance, you kinda lose sight of the main thing of winning. Since the loss in 2022, it’s been my main motivation to find ways to win, regardless of how it looks. I just want to find ways to win, and that’s the mentality I want this team to have,” added Hurts.
Jalen Hurts on if he will “open up” his play-style more now that he’s won a SB: “No. I’ve went a very long time being told I gotta do it a certain type of way. That didn’t get me the win, when I did it how everyone told me to.. When you put so much energy into [personal]… pic.twitter.com/a5ssOOOQqS
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) July 23, 2025
It’s clear as day that Hurts and the team made a concerted effort not to run up his numbers just for the sake of it. In 2022, when they lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, he was a Pro Bowler and a Second-Team All-Pro.
Hurts threw for over 3,700 yards and 22 TDs against just six interceptions that season. He also rushed for 760 yards and 13 TDs. In that Super Bowl, he threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, along with 70 rushing yards and three more scores.
This year, he threw nearly 100 fewer passes, finished with under 3,000 yards, and had just 18 touchdowns. And while his numbers in the Super Bowl were solid, they paled in comparison to what he put up in Super Bowl 57.
Hurts wasn’t a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro this time around. But he did nab that Super Bowl MVP trophy. Not a bad prize. Not at all!
Hurts doesn’t need the Super Bowl bling
The Eagles’ return to training camp also meant that they received their Super Bowl rings as well. In a private ceremony, the players, all suited and booted, showed off their new bling.
However, while Hurts was there celebrating with his teammates, it was quite noticeable that he was the only one who did not put his ring on once. When asked about his reluctance to wear it, he said, “I’ve moved on to the new year. It’s as simple as that.”
That’s about as cold an answer as you can ask for. It’s the type of mindset you’d usually see from a Michael Jordan, or a Kobe Bryant (“job’s not finished”), or a Tom Brady.
Hurts may not be considered to be a top-five quarterback right now by ESPN pundits. But he’s chasing something larger than individual success. And as Brady could tell you, when you get that team success, the individual accolades tend to follow, anyway.
