Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (Post-Game Transcript)
On the satisfaction of this win:
“I think tension and pressure build character. We needed a game like this for us. Jokingly, I guess we wanted to play a little bit longer tonight. I think a win like this does so much for the spirit of a team because winning is not easy. Winning is hard. It’s hard in this league and it’s very hard in this division. In multiple ways, it lights a fire for us to continue to do what we want to do. I come up here and I tell you guys [media] how important keeping the main thing the main thing is. The main thing is to continue to grow and get better every day. There are a ton of things to clean up in every phase and every guy could have done something better out there today, but when you find ways to win in those moments and you persevere and you stick together, that makes a team come together. That makes us stronger together and that builds up [moral] and a special togetherness. I’m proud of how we fought, I’m proud of how we overcame, and I’m proud of how we were resilient. I’m excited to continue to build and grow as we’ve done this whole entire time so far.”
On his play today:
“Growing, every time I step on the field, that is my goal. I want to get better every opportunity that I have. It’s always good to protect the ball, but we have to finish in the red zone. If we finish in the red zone today it’s a totally different game. We had multiple opportunities to do that, but that pressure builds a ton of character. When you put yourself in those positions, it’s about how you respond. That will pay dividends for us in the future.”
On if his fire is necessary to boost the team in tense situations:
“I think that was something— my whole career has kind of been a rollercoaster in terms of being in different and unique and unprecedented moments, which you may call pressure and stormy and that fire, but that’s what I was born in. I feel like it’s a unique feeling being in those situations because you work so hard and you prepare so hard, and you go through so much to put yourself in a position where you’re comfortable in those moments. They played a great game, and they competed well. I think for us, there’s a ton to build on. We just need to continue to grow. It’s about the expectation you have for yourself to do that in those moments.
[K] Jake [Elliott], he showed up big time. Y’all hate sending him on the field, but he showed up and made the game-winning field goal for the team. Those moments like that, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a game where a guy has kicked the game-winner, and I’ve had to witness that in my career. These are all new emotions on different levels, but winning is the main thing. So, you guys assess whatever it is, but the main thing is just to continue to grow. As long as we’re doing that, I’m confident we’re in a good place.”
On what he’s learned from being under pressure:
“Nothing. Nothing. It’s who I am. That’s what it is.”
On trusting his teammates to make big plays late in the game:
“Like I said, I feel like it’s great to have games like this because it shifts the spirit of a team. I think, obviously we’ve won a lot of games, we’ve lost the games we’ve lost, but we’ve won a lot of games in this regular season, and I think you can never get comfortable with winning. When I say that it lights a fire for us, I think winning is the main thing. I went on my whole rant about one A and one B, whenever I did that, but the reality is, when you feel moments like this it does so much for a team – the character of the team, the spirit of the team. In every situation, I always challenge them, ‘How do you respond? What does this do to you?’ I know what this does to me, and as a leader I want to vocalize that. Just continuing to grow is the main thing in this, and I reiterate how this team will continue to strive to win. It’ll look different every time we step out there. Whether a 300-yard passing game, a 300-yard rushing game, a 150-yard rushing game by [Eagles RB] D’Andre [Swift], or a [Eagles WR] DeVonta Smith day, [Eagles TE] Dallas Goedert’s day, [Eagles WR] A.J. Brown’s day, that doesn’t really matter to me. I think winning is the only thing that matters.”
On whether the pink t-shirt he wore had any meaning related to cancer awareness in the month of October:
“No. I just like the shirt, I like the color.”
On what it means for the team to win in different ways:
“Yeah, I think it is reassuring, I think it is reassuring for us. I think more so, man, when you feel those moments, they build so much character for you. Just hammering in on that, it builds so much character, and I think that can mold the character of this team to trend forward and continue to grow and I think we all have the mentality of looking at it and growing. You know, no one is satisfied, no one is satisfied, no one is ever satisfied. I’m never satisfied, but winning is the only thing that matters and we’ll enjoy those wins because we earned them and we know what winning can do, you know, if you take it in the right way, so we just want to keep that hunger, keep the eagerness to get better, just keep growing, and just keep chipping by the bit, and we find ways to win. That’s going to look a thousand different ways.”
On what he saw before the go-ahead touchdown in the 4th quarter:
“You know, some things just happen in those moments, you know, You asked me a question about standing in the pocket last week, it’s a feel thing, in those moments, in those high intensity and pressure moments it comes down to feel. I think winning is finding a way to win and we found a way to win. We just want to continue to find ways to win.”