How the Eagles Were Carried by Jalen Hurts’ “Straitjacket” Game

Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for the Eagles, lit a victory cigar while standing alone in his locker in the corner. Hurts deserved this opportunity. After the Eagles’ 55-23 thumping of the Washington Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship game, he had just led the team to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to dispute Hurts’ place in Eagles history. He simply prevails. Whatever it takes. This should be clear by now because the Eagles will play the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch on February 9.

However, the recurring theme in Saquon Barkley’s praise this season was that Hurts was a game-manager, that he couldn’t pass, or that the Eagles prevailed despite him.

On Sunday, Hurts reversed all of that once more, saying of head coach Nick Sirianni: “I guess he let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.”.

Not Done Yet@jalenhurts | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/4yBGwFuqQu

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 27, 2025

Hurts completed 20 of 28 throws for 246 yards and a touchdown, which explains why. Halfway through the second quarter, he connected A.J. Brown on a brilliantly thrown deep ball on 4th-and-5 from the Eagles’ 45-yard line for 31 yards to the Commanders’ 14-yard line.

The Eagles were only two points up at the time. Washington would have taken over at midfield with an opportunity to grab the lead if Hurts had missed that ball. Before halftime, the Eagles scored two consecutive touchdowns, and Washington never again came close to taking the lead.

Jalen Hurts and his importance to the Eagles

However, that fails to capture the essence of Hurts’ magnificence. Since he hasn’t needed to, he hasn’t lit up the scoreboard with his arm. Barkley’s 2,005 yards this season and his additional 442 yards in three playoff games should have made that clear.

Whether it was the 1-6 collapse to close last season, the Super Bowl loss two years ago, or even Hurts’ struggles in college at Alabama when he lost his starting job, he had to learn those lessons the hard way.

Hurts was then asked how he discovered that statistics are meaningless. Hurts said: “A lot of these things come down to how you finish,”

“And I think being able to lean on (Barkley) when we’re trying to bring things home, I think that’s a huge impact he’s made for us. And obviously, when he does it early, it doesn’t really matter who gets the party started.

“Rhythm is the word. Gain our rhythm as an offense and keep going.” 

“Failure has to be used as a source of pain to go take that next step, and there’s always learning opportunities in everything. It’s human nature to be ignited by the shortcomings. It’s just a natural thing.”

Jalen Hurts isn’t a terrific quarterback only because of that. For the second time in three seasons, though, it does make him a Super Bowl quarterback.

Hurts’ straitjacket came off against the Commanders, which is understandable. The Eagles needed that in order to win.

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