Getty Images Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Brandon Graham strip-sacked Tom Brady to secure the Philadelphia Eagles‘ first and only Super Bowl victory in franchise history, and after Jalen Hurts‘ latest comeback victory, he said he believes Hurts belongs in the future Hall of Famer’s company.
“They always talk about Tom Brady,” Graham told reporters following the Eagles’ 37-34 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. “With the drives at the end, I’m hoping Jalen starts getting that name. I’m happy that he went out there, finished the deal, and had a game-winning drive.”
Comparing Hurts to Brady might seem nonsensical on the surface, but Graham might wind up simply being a bit premature.
Brady will walk into Canton, Ohio, in four years with one of the most impressive resumès in NFL history, including 46 fourth-quarter comebacks and 58 game-winning drives. But, Hurts continues to produce in the biggest moments of the Eagles’ most important games.
Hurts was the Eagles’ calm amid the storm of pouring rain and a Bills offense that poured it on early, jumping out to a 17-7 halftime lead. In the second half of Sunday’s game, and overtime, Hurts completed 14-of-20 passes for 167 yards with three passing touchdowns, and 43 rushing yards including the game-winning 12-yard rushing score.
In the biggest moments of the game, Hurts became the Eagles’ driving force, dispatching Josh Allen and the Bills, passing yet another test against a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
“Just clutch in clutch moments,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters after the game. “There’s going to be plays he wants back from the first half. There are plays that we called that we’ll want back, from the first half. But, he really made some big-time plays when they mattered most.
“He made a lot of really, really clutch plays in the second half, and the big one right at the end of the game there. … I don’t think it’s anything you learn about him, he’s clutch, he’s been clutch for this team, and for this city for the last three years now.”
By game’s end, Hurts passed for 200 yards with three touchdowns to one interception and rushed for 65 yards and two rushing touchdowns in one of the most impressive performances of his young career.
Hurts has been instrumental in the Eagles’ 10-1 start, and with Sunday’s victory, Philadelphia moved closer to clinching a playoff berth, having already dispatched the Bills, Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys and the explosive Miami Dolphins, just over the past five weeks alone.
In Hurts’ career to date, the Eagles’ quarterback has led six fourth-quarter comebacks and eight game-winning drives, including four game-winning drives this season alone.
“I feel like the defense always tries to put [Jalen] in the best position that we can,” Graham said. “We love putting it in his hands at the end, to give us a chance. That’s one of many, and I’m happy to be part of that.”
Eagles Can Clinch Playoff Berth
With Sunday’s victory over the Bills, the Eagles moved a step closer to becoming the first team in the NFC to secure a playoff berth.
After losing the 2023 Super Bowl to the Chiefs, the Eagles are aiming to become just the ninth team in the Super Bowl era to watch their opponent hoist the Lombardi Trophy and then return to the big game the following season.
Of the teams that returned to the Super Bowl the season after losing it, the 1971 Cowboys, the 1972 Dolphins and the 2018 New England Patriots are the only ones to win it the second time around.
Whether the Eagles can become the fourth remains to be seen, but to make it back to the postseason after a Super Bowl loss would put Philadelphia in rarefied air.
Eagles Finally See No. 3 WR Emerge
The Eagles had previously been struggling to find a steady third receiving option behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but they saw a bit player in the offense make a critical play on Sunday afternoon.
Philadelphia native Olamide Zaccheaus caught a 29-yard touchdown against the Bills, perhaps separating himself as a reliable option in the passing game, especially with tight end Dallas Goedert sidelined and receiver Julio Jones continuing to offer limited contributions.
Hurts and the Eagles have thrived with Brown and Smith leading the way through the air, but Zaccheaus showed when called upon he’s capable of delivering a big play of his own.