Jordan Mailata said Jalen Hurts used doubters as ‘motivation’: How Eagles QB shined when it mattered most

PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts didn’t need much to figure out how to win football games. That’s always been in his DNA. 

How well Hurts played in the final four months of the season was a pivotal reason why the Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl championship, and why Hurts was the Super Bowl MVP. 

The Eagles won the last 14 games Hurts started and finished. Hurts was incredibly efficient late in games in the regular season and playoffs, but the doubters still remained. 

All Hurts did was complete 37 of 50 passes (74%) for 463 yards and three touchdowns to one interception between the conference championship game and Super Bowl. Hurts had a 114.3 passer rating and averaged 9.3 yards per attempt. That’s not including his 88 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns, 72 of those and a score came in the Super Bowl LIX 40-22 blowout over the Chiefs (the 72 yards rushing are an NFL record for quarterbacks in a Super Bowl). 

“It’s almost like he used it as motivation,” said Eagles left tackle and captain Jordan mailata. “We see it but we choose not to listen to it or use it as motivation. For some reason the more doubt there is the more incredible the guy plays. I’m amazed by it every time.”

The numbers show Mailata isn’t lying. Hurts was incredible in the fourth quarter of games since the bye week (Week 5), completing 37 of 45 passes (82.2%), for 471 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions — an NFL leading 132.5 passer rating. He also had five rushing touchdowns in that stretch, having as many total touchdowns (8) as incompletions (8) during that stretch. 

Again, why the Eagles didn’t lose any game Hurts started and finished since October. 

“I don’t know what it is. Can’t speak for the bloke but if I was to say something, I just think that’s how he works,” Mailata said. “He just loves to prove the doubters wrong.

“I think he really walks by talk is cheap. That kind of mentality. It’s an old-school mentality. He’s an old head, man. Sometimes I forget he’s 26. I feel like he’s 56.”

Hurts completed 85 of 117 passes (72.6%) in the second half of games since that bye week (Week 6), throwing for 1,208 yards with seven touchdowns to zero interceptions for a league-leading 125.6 passer rating. Hurts also had 269 yards rushing and 10 rushing touchdowns in that stretch. 

And his 17 total touchdowns to zero giveaways in the second half of games since the first week of October were as clutch as it gets. 

“All I think about truly is the effort that was put in,” Hurts said. “All the hard work, the blood, sweat and tears that you invest into the game. Hoping to be the last man standing and we were indeed the last man standing. 

“I think this whole year has been magnifying for me in terms of my desire to win. I kind of learned how I process everything after a game and where my heart was, like the joy of winning it, still has no comparison to the pain of losing it. Those things are still going to continue to motivate me and drive me internally.”