The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions once again, and as the dust settles in New Orleans and the parties rage on Broad Street, it’s time to look back a truly remarkable night.
It’s time to put some respect on Jalen Hurts‘ name
After a year of hearing nothing but criticism and disrespect, Jalen Hurts put together a stellar performance under the brightest lights. Not that this should shock anyone given how he’s consistently done so in the postseason and came heartbreakingly close to dethroning the Chiefs two years ago, but last night felt personal.
All we’ve heard all year is how Hurts can’t pass, he’s regressing, and how he needs to sling it deep more. How he isn’t on the level of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow. How he’s unable to take advantage of one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Jalen Hurts is a Super Bowl Champion and a Super Bowl MVP. Per TruMedia, he actually achieved the highest EPA per dropback in the Super Bowl since since 2000, reminding us of those very important words he spoke not too long ago.
Just because he doesn’t, it doesn’t mean he can’t.
Hurts was everything the Eagles needed him to be last night, and while revenge is a dish best served cold, this one came piping hot. If there is ever time for a Jalen Hurts apology tour from the national media, it’s on Monday morning after watching him calmly guiding his team down the field over and over again, never getting lost in the moment, and instead becoming the moment.
Vic Fangio deserves his flowers
As much as Saquon Barkley‘s addition this offseason might go down as one of the best in history, Vic Fangio’s arrival as defensive coordinator was arguably just as important. After two years of failed experiments from coordinators running phantom versions of Vic’s scheme, the grandfather of it all came to implement it himself, and boy was that the right decision.
Despite his Miami tenure ending in bizarre fashion, Fangio found himself in a locker room filled with the right kind of players both physically and mentally to execute his scheme flawlessly. Best defense in the NFL? Somehow that’s an understatement after watching them terrorize Patrick Mahomes for 4 quarters, pressuring him on over 50% of his dropbacks without ever sending a SINGLE blitz.
It was a defensive masterclass. Fangio had his troops playing the best football of their lives under the biggest spotlight, and he deserves every bit of praise coming his way.
The Philadelphia Eagles: Beginning of a dynasty?
Let me put this into perspective for a minute.
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, Jalyx Hunt? All of them are on rookie contracts.
Jalen Hurts, A.J Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and near enough the entire offensive line? All of them are staying in Philadelphia for at least 3 more years.
The future is so, so bright. The Eagles brought the youngest defense in the NFL to the table this season and became the league’s most dominant. Nobody was able to find an answer for the offense. Stopping Saquon is one thing, but can you stop AJ, Smitty, Goedert, Hurts on the ground, and the rest of the supporting cast?
There is every chance this team goes on to repeat or at the very least becomes a perennial contender for years to come, and that is both exciting (for us) and terrifying (for every other team in the NFL).
The Eagles deserved it
The first Super Bowl win back in 2017 was for the City. It was a team of underdogs making their mark, proving that hungry dogs did indeed run faster and ending one of the most poignant championship droughts of all time.
This one? That was for the players. It was for Jalen Hurts. For Saquon. For DeVonta Smith who has now won a Heisman, a Natty, an Iron Bowl, and a Super Bowl. It was for Brandon Graham, who likely bows out as a two-time World Champion with the team that drafted him. It was for Nick Sirianni who had his head on a spike earlier in the season. For Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, for the players who endured the heartbreak of Super Bowl 57. For Lane Johnson, for Jordan Mailata, for Darius Slay. For Zack Baun.
This was such a special moment. A vindicating moment, and one that will likely cement a lot of the players we’ve come to know and love as elite talents. Their careers from here on out will always be mentioned in the same breath as ending the Kansas City dynasty. Nobody can ever take that away from them, and that’s so beautiful.
The Eagles’ dominance is a testament to Sirianni’s coaching ability
Nick Sirianni might be the most oft-criticized coach in all of Football, and I get it. His coaching style seems to wind up just about everyone. His emotions enrage opposing fans, and the fact he doesn’t call plays has confused many, leading to the questions of ‘what does he even do?’.
He wins.
When Chauncey Gardner-Johnson cried into his arms after the NFC Championship, that highlighted what Sirianni does so well.
When A.J Brown embraced him, it highlighted exactly what it does so well.
The players are all-in on their Head Coach because he’s all-in on them.
Nothing exemplified that more than the very first drive of the game between the Eagles and Chiefs. 4th and short at the 50-yard line, and Sirianni sends his team out to go for it. The pass was complete, but of course rescinded due to a rogue flag. But Sirianni trusted his players and wanted to instil that sense of confidence early. It wasn’t the only time he’d do that, and in the biggest game against a juggernaut opponent, to double down on his guys was something so crucial to the belief that flowed its way through the team.
You can call the game of a lifetime, but it doesn’t matter if you lack the emotional intelligence needed to keep your players on the right track, and Sirianni showed exactly why the team kept him on after dismantling the rest of his staff just under one year ago.
He might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s a Super Bowl Champion…and frankly that’s all that matters.
The Philadelphia Eagles are world champions. After a tough start to the year, they burst out of the bye week and never looked back…and you can’t do that without a Head Coach with the awareness to be exactly what the team needs.
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
