Hurts: Coach 'let me out' as Eagles reach SB

PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts lit it up through the air and on the ground in Sunday's NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders, totaling 262 yards and four touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a 55-23 victory and into Super Bowl LIX.

Hurts quipped afterward that coach Nick Sirianni "let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today."

With a dominant run game led by MVP candidate Saquon Barkley, the Eagles have largely leaned conservative when it comes to the passing attack. Hurts' 246 yards through the air against Washington marked just the second time in the past eight games he hit the 200-yard mark passing.

"It's not about me. I don't play the game for any statistical measure," Hurts said. "You play the game to win. I play the game to win."

Barkley continued his remarkable season. He broke off a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles' first offensive play and finished with 118 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns.

Hurts costarred. He ended 22-of-28 with one touchdown pass and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 110.1 and ran for three scores. Hurts and Barkley became the first teammates to have at least three rushing touchdowns in a playoff game in NFL history.

The formula for much of the season has been to lean on Barkley and the No. 1 defense in football and to limit turnovers. Hurts has been instrumental in handling that last order of business. He was second in the NFC through four weeks with seven giveaways but has had only three since then, helping the Eagles bounce back from a 2-2 start to finish the regular season 14-3.

The Eagles won the turnover battle 4-0 against Washington and have 10 takeaways and zero giveaways through three games this postseason.

"I don't want anybody else leading this team at quarterback other than him," Sirianni said of Hurts. "He's a winner."

There were questions about Hurts' health entering the game after he suffered a knee injury against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. Hurts said this week of prep was "challenging" and "in some ways exhausting" as he revealed he was also dealing with an illness in the leadup to the Washington game.

But he looked unimpeded against the Commanders, helping to fuel a convincing win that has Hurts and the Eagles in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.

"In a sense, I think this game chose me and this position chose me," Hurts said, when asked about handling a reduced role as a passer for much of the season. "To be able to come this far and have these opportunities in front us, you just want to take advantage of them.

"But I've never been motivated by achieving the personal things, personal goals. All of those things come when you put the work in, have the right mentality and embrace what the group's mission is. And the mission is to win."