Jalen Hurts Gives Major Shoutout to Eagles' Defense Right After Winning Super Bowl

Philly's defense was on fire Sunday night.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Feb 9, 2025.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Feb 9, 2025. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, but they couldn't have done it without a truly unbelievable performance from the team's defense.

The unit did not blitz once in 42 dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, and managed to sack Patrick Mahomes a whopping six times—the most in one game in the 29-year-old superstar's career. They also forced three turnovers, including an electric pick-six from rookie Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean, and held the Chiefs to just 275 total yards.

K.C.'s sloppier-than-normal offensive performance made it a bit easier, no doubt. But the Eagles' defense picked the best day to shine.

And quarterback Jalen Hurts, your Super Bowl MVP, knows it. During his post-game interview with Erin Andrews, the QB took a minute to shout out his defense for the work they put in to secure the win.

"I think No. 1, defense wins championships," Hurts said. "Defense wins championships. And we saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities ... and we were able to do what we do."

In the end, the Birds handily defeated the Chiefs 40–22, though it would have been a much larger lead had it not been for some wild last-minute magic from Mahomes. Vegas was expecting a very close game—the line before the game was around 1.5 points—but it's safe to say no one believed the Chiefs would be shut out of the first half entirely. And the Eagles have their defense to thank, in large part, for that.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.