Jalen Hurts’ epic victory celebration after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl has gone viral, with legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s daughter, Kristen, also showing her support.
The Eagles secured a landslide 55-23 victory against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, and Hurts was one of two primary producers in the record win, scoring four touchdowns — three of which came on the ground.
Jalen Hurts’ Epic Cigar-Lighting Celebration Draws a Reaction From Kristen Saban
As the Eagles fans celebrated the commanding win at Lincoln Financial Field, general manager Howie Roseman shouted toward Jalen Hurts’ locker and asked him whether he wanted a cigar.
The quarterback, fresh off silencing his critics, gleefully accepted and lighted it in the middle of the room.
The cameras caught the funnels of smoke rising and Hurts’ cigar-lighting moment was immediately all over the social media.
Jalen Hurts lighting his victory cigar: pic.twitter.com/gMYozaFOOW
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 27, 2025
Kristen Saban couldn’t resist sharing how impressed she was, reposting a picture of the quarterback’s celebration on her Instagram story with the caption, “Hang it in the Louvre.”
In the win against the Commanders, Hurts completed 71.4% of his throws for 246 yards, one touchdown, no turnovers, and had a passer rating of 110.1. He rushed for three touchdowns and broke Steve Young’s record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in the playoffs.
Hurst has faced criticism for a seemingly conservative offense but put up his best playoff game of the season, and his second-best of the career behind his Super Bowl performance two years ago against the Kansas City Chiefs, per PFN’s QB+ Metric, which dates back to 2019. The 26-year-old received high praise from Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.
“It’s amazing how much doubt there is sometimes,” Sirianni said. “I can’t quite comprehend it. Because it doesn’t look like people think it should look like? But the guy has been clutch. He has won a ton of football games.
“We don’t care how it looks. He just continues to win. I think the criticism is … whatever. He just wins.”
Hurts was unfazed by the criticism and made it clear that the only thing that mattered to him was winning.
“I don’t play the game for stats,” Hurts said. “I don’t play the game for numbers or any statistical approval from anybody else. I know everyone has a preconceived notion for how it’s supposed to look.”
The Eagles’ 55 points set a record for the most in the Conference Championship Round, surpassing the 1990 Bills, who scored 51 against the (then) Los Angeles Raiders. Hurts and Saquon Barkley, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards, were the chief architects of the dominant display.
They became the first pair of teammates to rush for three scores each in a single playoff game and will hope to replicate a similar performance when they lock horns with the Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.