Former Alabama star quarterback Jalen Hurts was used to being in big moments when he played for the Crimson Tide, and the same goes for when he moved on for his final collegiate season at Oklahoma in 2019.
He also knows a little something about being under the gun since he’s arrived in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, playing in 2 Super Bowls and winning 1 of them as the Super Bowl MVP to cap Philly’s championship run for the 2024 season.
Hurts is 1 of those select few quarterbacks who have won a national championship in college, helping Bama to the mountaintop in 2017, and a Super Bowl, so Sunday’s Week 2 moment in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans wasn’t going to faze him too much.
And it didn’t.
After the underdog Titans took a 20-17 lead over the Eagles with a field goal, there was a little less than 2 minutes remaining for Hurts to work some more magic of his, and he seized the opportunity with some special throws in the final, frantic moments in the Music City.
Hurts calmly drove the Eagles down the field, needing 9 plays to go 65 yards, and he capped the game-winning drive with — what else? — a 3-yard touchdown toss to Darius Cooper in the back of the end zone with just 9 seconds left, turning what would’ve been a horrific early season loss for Philadelphia into a gut-check victory that improved the Eagles to 2-0.
Here is the winning touchdown pass, with Hurts drifting to his right before firing across his body:
The go-ahead score gave the Eagles a 24-20 lead, which would prove to be the final score, but the game wasn’t over yet, with the Titans getting the ball back for 1 final miracle after Vanderbilt pulled off its miracle victory down the road on Saturday.
But it didn’t happen, as the Eagles held on behind Hurts, whose theatrics on that game-winning drive included this clutch pass to another former Alabama star, wideout DeVonta Smith, on a 3rd-and-6 from the Titans’ 22-yard line.
The 19-yard hookup set the Eagles up at the Tennessee 3-yard line, and Hurts delivered the touchdown strike on the very next play.
Here’s the connection between former Alabama standouts that set the game-winner up:
The Eagles escaped on Sunday, staying perfect so far in 2026, and they’ll be trying to win another NFC East title, too. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Philadelphia’s chances to outlast its division rivals and bring home an NFC East crown when the dust settles on the regular season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
