Ahead of playing in the biggest game of his career, Jalen Hurts calmly delivered a poignant message to any of his remaining critics while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
The Eagles star quarterback and MVP candidate took to the podium in Arizona for the latest round of media sessions ahead of facing the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday. When asked about wanting to prove his critics wrong, Hurts spoke on focusing on the process of getting better before dropping a great one-liner on his approach to the outside noise.
“I had a purpose before everybody had an opinion. It’s not about anybody else,” Hurts said. Seemingly impressed with his answer, the 24-year-old then told the crowd after a brief pause, “Y’all know y’all liked that one,” setting off a wave of laughter in the room.
For Hurts, the winding road to the Super Bowl included a few notable sharp turns along the way, dating back to when he was replaced by Tua Tagovailoa as Alabama’s starter in his junior season. After graduating, Hurts transferred to Oklahoma, where he reclaimed his QB1 status while finishing the year as Heisman runner-up and leading the Sooners to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth.
A second-round draft pick in 2020, Hurts again worked his way from being a backup to starter and took over as the Eagles’ QB in ’21 after playing behind Carson Wentz as a rookie. Now, fast forward nearly two years later, Hurts has a chance to let his game make the biggest statement to his critics to-date by leading Philly to its second Super Bowl victory following an MVP-caliber third NFL season.
On the year, Hurts recorded 3,701 yards, 35 total touchdowns (13 rushing) and six interceptions while leading Philadelphia to wins in 14 of his 15 regular-season starts.
