Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Jalen Hurts’ father, Averion, stood by the field entrance inside the Superdome as the final moments of Super Bowl LIX ticked away. The roar of Eagles fans, whistles, and “E-A-G-L-E-S” chants echoed through the tunnel as Philadelphia sealed a dominant 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. His son was about to be named Super Bowl MVP.
Hurts delivered a masterful performance, throwing for 293 yards and three touchdowns to outplay Patrick Mahomes. When the game ended, Averion made his way onto the confetti-covered field to embrace Jalen, a moment years in the making.
“I am just so humbly happy for him. That’s first and foremost and that’s all I care about as a daddy,” Averion said, his voice carrying the same cadence and authority as his son’s.
“I cried a little bit earlier. And I haven’t cried since USC-Alabama. I hadn’t shed a tear since then. But for whatever reason, it came out. So I guess it was the right time: They won that game, and they won this game, so evidently, the tears brought joy and victory.”
A Long Journey to the Top
That USC-Alabama game in 2016 was Hurts’ college debut. He had just graduated from Channelview High School, where Averion coached him, and stepped into the national spotlight by leading Alabama to a 52-6 blowout win with four total touchdowns.
From that moment to now, Hurts’ journey has been anything but conventional. He became Alabama’s first true freshman starting quarterback under Nick Saban, led the Crimson Tide to consecutive national championship appearances, then was benched at halftime of the 2018 title game in favor of Tua Tagovailoa. He later transferred to Oklahoma, finishing second in Heisman voting before the Eagles drafted him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Hurts won the starting job over Carson Wentz, had an MVP-caliber second season, and delivered a historic performance in Super Bowl LVII against the Chiefs—only to fall short in a 38-35 loss. A year later, the Eagles’ hopes of redemption were derailed by a late-season collapse.
Reflecting on his path after this Super Bowl victory, Hurts’ usually steady voice wavered.
“It is not normal,” he said, wearing a gray championship T-shirt and backward cap, a brief smile crossing his face. “It’s been a very unprecedented journey. It’s always the beginning until it’s the end.
“It means a lot—quantifying all that work over the years, embracing everything, taking every challenge head-on and taking every joy and moment of achievement and success head-on as well and processing them all as one.”
A Shift in the Eagles’ Approach
This season, the Eagles adjusted their offense after a shaky 2-2 start in which Hurts accounted for seven turnovers. The coaching staff leaned more on running back Saquon Barkley, and Hurts responded by limiting his mistakes. He committed just three turnovers the rest of the season, leading Philadelphia to 10 straight wins.
Still, questions remained about whether he could elevate the passing game when needed. Over the final seven regular-season games, he surpassed 200 passing yards only once. But Hurts silenced those doubts in the playoffs, throwing for 246 yards in the NFC Championship against Washington and delivering an efficient Super Bowl performance (17-of-22, 221 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT). His 46-yard touchdown strike to DeVonta Smith late in the third quarter put the Eagles up 34-0, essentially sealing the win.
“Going into this game, he was the least of my worries,” Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie said, his voice barely rising over the postgame celebration. “I knew he would play great, just as he did two years ago. You have to worry about almost everything; that’s one thing I didn’t even think about. I just said, ‘We’ve got the quarterback.’
“He’s 26, incredibly clutch, he knows what correlates with winning. Sometimes it’s through the ground game, sometimes it’s through the passing game. You’ve got to be able to do both. They really did a great job against Saquon today, but Jalen is a great thrower of the football, a quick decision-maker when he needs to be. He has the clutch gene.”
A Leader’s Impact
Beyond his performance on the field, Hurts grew into a more vocal leader this season. According to teammates, his influence was clear, particularly before the Super Bowl.
As he had done before their first Super Bowl meeting with the Chiefs, head coach Nick Sirianni opened the floor for players to speak during the team’s final meeting on Saturday night.
“I’ll tell you right now, I knew we were winning that football game after all the players talked in front of that room,” said defensive back Sydney Brown.
Brown singled out two voices: safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Hurts.
“I don’t know how to explain the emotion that Jalen had in his speech,” Brown said. “It was unbelievable. There’s a reason why he won Super Bowl MVP. He’s the best in the world.”
For Hurts and his teammates, the memory of their Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City remained a driving force. Early the following season, a teammate’s livestream revealed Hurts had changed his phone’s lock screen to an image of him walking off the field as red and gold confetti fell. Two years later, that image remained.
Asked if he would replace it now that he had a championship of his own, Hurts hesitated. He might keep it—still using past setbacks as fuel.
His father understood.
“I watched him walk off the field under that confetti and felt his pain,” Averion said. “I just didn’t want to feel that pain again.
“And I’m so happy—I don’t feel it because he doesn’t. I’m just happy for him. It’s a blessing because of how hard he works.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
