Philadelphia’s star quarterback reflects on a hard-fought victory at Nissan Stadium, where a powerful tribute to childhood hero Steve McNair fueled an intensely personal and nostalgic performance.
The Tennessee Titans' game against the Philadelphia Eagles came down to the wire in Week 2.
After a poor showing with the New York Jets in the season opener, the Titans responded in a big way.
Tennessee took an early 7-0 lead after Jalen Hurts nearly threw a pick-six to Amani Hooker. Hooker intercepted Hurts in the end zone, setting up the Titans offense at theEagles's 10-yard line.
The Titans' offense capitalized and scored on a quarterback sneak from Cam Ward.
The second quarter was dominated by the Eagles, but the Titans kept things close and were down 14-10 going into the second half.
The Titans then flipped the script and had a dominant second half. Tennessee took a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter with 1:56 left.
The Eagles' offense had plenty of time to march down the field, and Hurts broke the hearts of Titans fans in attendance.
Darius Cooper was wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, securing a 24-20 win for the Eagles.
The emotions were high in the game for fans of both sides, but especially for Hurts. He shared why facing the Titans at Nissan Stadium made him "emotional" at a recent Eagles press conference.
Hurts grew up watching Steve McNair and looked up to the Titans quarterback as a kid.
McNair was drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1995 and stayed with the franchise when they moved to Tennessee in 1997 and eventually became the Titans in 1999.
McNair continued playing for the Titans until after the 2005 season, when he joined the Baltimore Ravens. Sadly, McNair was murdered in 2009, just one year after he announced his retirement from the NFL.
Seeing McNair's poster on the side of Nissan Stadium made Hurts feel emotional, getting to see his hero like that.
"I have my moments, and, you know, last week for me was a really good feeling and a bit of an emotional feeling, you know?" Hurts said. "Pull up to the stadium and seeing Steve McNair on the wallpaper outside. He's the only one that I've looked up to. I get to meet MJ and, you know, build relationships with him and Tom Brady and all these other guys. Not to name Steve McNair. He's the only one that I've truly looked up to and watched and, you know, been enamored by, and I never got to meet him. So, I think that win was special for that reason, and I was reminded of that when I walked into the stadium, and it kind of hit me there. So, I don't know if that answers your question, but it's an example of, you know, the history of the game and how you as a player you attached to the examples before you, you know, the trailblazers before you so you can blaze your own trails."
He finished with the second-most passing yards in the history of the Oilers and Titans, throwing for 27,141. The only player in the history of the Oilers and Titans with more than him is Warren Moon (33,685).
It's a shame that McNair isn't around to see how much the fanbase adores and reveres him now that he has passed away.
It's great to see that current quarterbacks like Hurts still look up to McNair. The fact that Hurts has met people like Tom Brady but still regrets not meeting McNair says a lot about the impact he had.
Even though McNair was a Titan through and through, it's clear that he impacted the game of football as a whole.
