Much of the Eagles' run to their Super Bowl LIX triumph was focused on Saquon Barkley's 2,000-yard season and Philadelphia's swarming defense.
Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, got lost in the shuffle for many. Critics might point out that he doesn't stuff a stat sheet like some other signal-callers, or that he simply managed the Philadelphia offense en route to the football mountaintop.
Nick Sirianni rejects this notion.
"Yeah," the Eagles head coach said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. "That's bulls---."
Critics will point to the numbers (2,903 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions and a rushing touchdown total of 14 that is admittedly inflated by the Tush Push in 2024) for a quick crutch in their argument against Hurts. Supporters will point to his record as a starter (46-20 in the regular season, 6-3 in the postseason) to counter. Before long, the debate creeps toward the reductive statistic that polluted discourse in the NBA (and at times, the NFL) decades earlier: Who has more rings?
"Anytime, I hear that, it's cool, it's like a nice debate thing that people like to have," Sirianni said. "And I get it, there's a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill to be able to fill that debate. I understand that, but we're talking about the ultimate team game there is, and he does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game."
Naturally, the Philadelphia beat eats up this kind of reaction from Sirianni, and understandably so. If anybody knows Hurts' role and who he is as a person, it's those who cover him on a daily basis.
Hurts is a quiet, but incredibly effective leader who is never rattled by pressure or affected by outside noise. His understated reaction to a panel of ESPN experts all choosing Kansas City in ahead of Super Bowl LIX explained his entire demeanor in one viral video.
Hurts proved those doubters wrong, completing 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 40-22 win to earn the game's MVP honors.
Still, it remains a topic of debate. While some will downplay his role in the Eagles' second Super Bowl title, Hurts' supporters will point to his two Super Bowl appearances, his ability to go throw for throw with Patrick Mahomes in their first Super Bowl meeting, and his Eagles' domination of Kansas City in their rematch.
Count Sirianni among them.
"You name me a team that wins and wins consistently that doesn't have good players around you," Sirianni said. "Like, you name me a coach that doesn't have good players around him that wins. Like, you don't win with bad players, and it's the same thing you don't win with bad players as you're a quarterback either.
"It's a team game. Yeah, that always bothers me to be honest with you, when it's talked about because it's football."
Sirianni is most accurate in this response. Unlike other sports, football requires more reliable execution from every participant between the lines. It is the most interdependent sport of the major four in America, and the most difficult for one to dominate individually.
One cannot overlook a key detail within this reality, though: Philadelphia's roster has also been constructed by one of the savviest general managers in sports, Howie Roseman. Hurts is surrounded by an incredibly talented cast of contributors.
The same arguments were made against Tom Brady for a good portion of his career, in which some truth existed. The first Patriots dynasty won largely on the backs of their defense and an unrelenting ground attack. But eventually, detractors were forced to relent due to both the sheer amount of success Brady enjoyed and the fact they transformed into an explosive air attack in their second run of dominance.
Hurts is on a somewhat similar pace. He's already reached two Super Bowls before turning 27, and despite going 1-1 in those games, he was excellent in both. It's fair to argue he was even better in his team's loss than his win, and it's not his fault he didn't need to throw for 350 yards in order to win a Lombardi Trophy.
"One of the reasons I love football so much is that it takes everybody to accomplish your goals," Sirianni said. "Listen, you name great quarterbacks, you can go ahead and start naming great quarterbacks. I'll tell you their great receivers and their great defense.
"You know? Whether it's Brady with (Rob) Gronkowski or Brady's defenses, Mahomes with (Travis) Kelce, Steve Young with Jerry Rice. The list goes on and on and on."
Debates fuel discussion in every arena, and especially in sports. There's air time and digital space to fill, and nothing does it better than a good argument. Expect the same to persist regarding Hurts for quite some time.
"It's good debate, I guess," Sirianni continued. "I wouldn't even say it's a good debate, but it's a debate that people are able to have. But yeah.
"I guess my first thing, my first initial thing was, this is bulls---."
