A few former Alabama players reached the pinnacle of professional football Sunday night. Six Crimson Tide alums were crowned Super Bowl champions, helping the Philadelphia Eagles victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles defeated the Chiefs 40-22 in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, which the Chiefs won 38-35. It was a different story this time around as the Eagles got off to a 24-0 start and never looked back. After falling to the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes two seasons ago, former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts guided Philadelphia to its second-ever Super Bowl victory.
Hurts got on the board early, finding the end zone from 1-yard out courtesy of the Eagles’ trademark “tush push” play. Despite an early interception, his first since Nov. 10, Hurts immediately bounced back, leading the Eagles to a field goal on their next drive and later tossing a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown to put Philadelphia up 24-0.
The game's best and most Alabama-filled highlight came with the Eagles in full command in the third quarter. Instead of chewing the clock, Hurts found former Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith on a 46-yard bomb to make it 34-0. The score made Smith the first player drafted out of Alabama to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Though Smith’s play was spectacular, it was Hurts who took home Super Bowl LIX MVP honors for his strong showing against Kansas City. Hurts finished the game completing an efficient 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while racking up 11 carries for 72 yards and finding the end zone four times on the ground. Hurts is the third Alabama quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP along with Bart Starr and Joe Namath.
Hurts has been boosted all season by an elite Eagles offensive line anchored by a pair of former Alabama alums Landon Dickerson and Tyler Steen. Both players contributed in the Super Bowl, with Dickerson starting at left guard. He and Steen helped block for both Hurts and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. The Penn State product finished with 25 carries for 53 yards in the Super Bowl. Running behind Dickerson and Steen, Barkley led the NFL in rushing with 2,005 yards.
Three former Alabama assistant coaches will also collect Super Bowl rings with the Eagles. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland had the same position with the Tide in 2011-12. Doug Nussmeier was Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2012-13 and is now the Eagles QBs coach. Eagles Assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio was in charge of the running backs on Nick Saban’s staff in 2018.
Final stats by former Tide players on the Eagles
QB Jalen Hurts: 17 of 22 for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 11 carries for 72 yards, 4 touchdowns.
WR DeVonta Smith: 4 catches for 69 yards.
OL Landon Dickerson: Active – no stats.
OL Tyler Steen: Active – no stats.
CB Eli Ricks: Inactive — Finished the season with two tackles in 65 snaps.
Reserve / Injured: DT Byron Young
Reserve / Futures contract: TE Cameron Latu
Former Alabama cornerback Pat Surtain II earns top defensive honor
The NFL has been dominated by former Alabama players all season. 10 Tide alums were named to the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl, while three former defenders — cornerbacks Marlon Humphery and Patrick Surtain II and safety Xavier McKinney — were selected to the 2024 NFL All-Pro team.
Surtain also earned one of the NFL’s highest honors, winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. The former Alabama cornerback became the first player at the position in the last five years to win the award and the first-ever Alabama product to be named the NFL’s best defensive player.
In just his fourth season as a pro, Surtain has become one of the most dangerous defensive backs. In 16 games this season, Surtain had 45 tackles and tied his career-high with four interceptions, including a 100 pick-6 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
But it was Surtain’s underlying numbers and performances against some of the NFL’s best receivers that earned him the honor. He held Ja'Marr Chase to just three receptions for 27 yards and DK Metcalf to three catches for 29 yards this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Surtain allowed just 396 receiving yards, which is the fewest among cornerbacks who played at least 80% of their team’s coverage snaps. He also allowed the fourth-lowest passer rating when targeted.
After earning his latest honor as a pro, Surtain has an incredibly bright future as the anchor of the Broncos defense. Through his first four seasons, he’s racked up 232 tackles and 11 interceptions, including a pair of pick-6s.
With the NFL season now in the books, here's a list of every Alabama Pro Bowler and All-Pro.
Tide Pro Bowl selections
Ravens running back Derrick Henry (Fifth Pro Bowl selection)
Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (Fourth Pro Bowl selection)
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphery (Fourth Pro Bowl selection)
Packers running back Josh Jacobs (Third Pro Bowl selection)
Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II (Third Pro Bowl selection)
Eagles offensive lineman Landon Dickerson (Third Pro Bowl selection)
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (Second Pro Bowl selection)
Brown wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (First Pro Bowl selection)
Packers safety Xavier McKinney (First Pro Bowl selection)
Lions safety Brian Branch (First Pro Bowl selection)
Tide All-Pros
Patrick Surtain II (second All-Pro selection)
Marlon Humphrey (second All-Pro selection)
Xavier McKinney (first All-Pro selection)
