NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 09: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after Philadelphia beat Kansas City 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Put yourself in the shoes of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Imagine you’ve just won the Super Bowl at age 26 with a stellar performance, and you’re about to be named the MVP. Then a reporter immediately asks what you’re thinking. What words come to mind?

If I were ever in that kind of position, I hope I’d have the presence of mind to say something like what Hurts actually did say last night, barely minutes after time ran out.

It came down to three short words: “Defense wins championships.”

Think about this for a second. It was the pinnacle of a career performance so far for Hurts: 293 yards and three touchdowns leading the Eagles to a 40 to 22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

And just to be clear, in case you’re not a football fan. One of the unusual things about American football compared to other sports is that clubs actually field at least three different “teams” during a game: an offense, a defense, and “special teams.”

As a quarterback, Hurts is the driving force of the offense — and again, he had a very good game.

But, he’s never on the field with the defense. Yet the first key thing he said when asked about the game was to credit the defensive squad.

In fairness, even though Hurts was named most valuable player, he’s absolutely right that the Eagles defense was the key to last night’s victory.

They shut down future Hall-of-Famer and two-time Super Bowl-winning Kansas Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for most of the game, sacking him six times and forcing three turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown.

In fact, one commentator — Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson — suggested before the announcement that Hurts was MVP that perhaps the award should go to Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman, for having recruited and signed all the players on the Eagles defense.

Truly, the final score was closer than the game itself seemed, largely because 8 of Kansas City’s 22 points came at the very end, on a touchdown and a 2-point conversion after the game was already over for all intents and purposes.

Still, I think it took a lot of leadership instinct and grace for Hurts to put it as he did, and when he was on the spot and still trying to process the victory. After crediting God, he said:

“Defense wins championships. We saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields. [That’s why] we were able to do what we do.”

Why did it matter so much? Because almost as soon as an NFL team wins or loses the Super Bowl, it’s time to start getting ready for the next season.

One thing that some of the great players understand is that part of getting ready involves doing what you can to attract more great players to your team.

It’s the sort of thing that led the best player in the history of the game so far, retired New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, to go to extreme lengths to recruit teammates — becoming almost an unofficial assistant general manager by the end of his career.

Before you get to that point however, it helps to have a public reputation for being a player who gives credit to others first, even before taking credit for his own efforts.

Professional football is a business, and professional players are motivated by financial rewards, just like top performers in any industry.

But a leader’s attitude can make a difference, for example when a highly touted free agent might have multiple options, and be in a position to go wherever he wants to.

All things considered, he might choose the team with the winning QB whose words suggest he clearly values his teammates.

It’s a lesson to put to work in whatever field of business you’re in, as well.

Share the glory. Praise your teammates.

You might find you wind up with even more to cheer about.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.