The Philadelphia Eagles survived a late spurt from the Dallas Cowboys to win their season opener 24-20 against their eternal rivals on Thursday. One of the biggest reasons for that win is quarterback Jalen Hurts who basically carried the Eagles offense during the game. As it turns out, he had some extra motivation to win that game.
Hurts actually had a special guest for that game at Lincoln Financial Field, and that is NBA legend Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls icon, whose net worth is around $3.6 billion according to Celebrity Net Worth, was in attendance and Hurts said that his presence alone was motivation for him to lead the Eagles to victory against the Cowboys.
“The only thing to do when he’s in attendance is win,” he told reporters in the postgame press conference.
#Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on his special guest Michael Jordan: The only thing to do when he’s in attendance is win. pic.twitter.com/Qp1cz4sh1e
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 5, 2025
He made 19 of his 23 pass attempts and had 62 yards on 14 carries, which had resulted in two touchdowns. This was an MVP performance for Hurts, who picked apart the Dallas defense as it was clearly missing the defensive expertise of Micah Parsons, who the Cowboys traded to the Green Bay Packers following some contract disagreements.
His teammates performed well too, including AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Saquon Barkley was also solid in that game, finishing with 60 yards on 18 carries, though he was limited by the Dallas defense that shuffled around in an effort to contain him.
Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni All Praises for Jalen Hurts After Win vs. Cowboys
During the postgame press conference, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni talked about that scrappy win and stated that Jalen Hurts was very efficient that game, carrying the Eagles to a rivalry game win against the Cowboys on opening day.
“I think Jalen played a really efficient game,” the coach said. “He made a lot of plays with his feet when things weren’t particularly there. That’s such an advantage that Jalen, there was a third down, they took away his first read, he resituated his feet and put the ball to Dallas. To say I know exactly how he played yet would be hard because I want to watch the tape.”
The Eagles will have a tough task ahead of them for their next game, which will be on Sunday. It will be against Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl.
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