Rob Gronkowski faced embarrassment after his bold prediction that the Philadelphia Eagles would be "sent home" unless Jalen Hurts improved fell flat. The Eagles soared to another Super Bowl against the on February 9 in the 59th edition of the iconic event, following a dominant 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game.

Prior to the playoffs intensifying, Gronkowski had cast doubt on the Eagles' prospects, labelling them as "beatable" during their Wildcard round. After the giants beat the Green Bay Packers 22-10, the former tight end appeared live on FOX NFL Sunday and attributed the Packers' loss to their own blunders rather than the performance.

Gronkowski said: "Philly definitely didn't look invincible, they looked beatable at times throughout this game, and Green Bay, they need to play a sound game overall in all three phases, and that did not happen - especially with the special teams.

"I mean they had an opening kick off where they fumbled and then Eagles walked in - they didn't walk in, they threw it for a touchdown pass and then they also missed the field goal. That was a 10-point swing right there."

Gronkowski then took aim at Philadelphia's display, suggesting quarterback Hurts needed to step up his passing game or face an early off-season departure. The 35-year-old said: "AJ Brown, Dallas Goedert, Devonte Smith, they got to get involved more in the game plan if they want to beat whoever they're playing next week.

"And Jalen Hurts has to step it up in the pass game as well or else they're going to be sent home next week."

However, these remarks did not stand the test of time, as the Eagles have triumphed in both their playoff matches and are charging into the Super Bowl. While Hurts did not outperform either of the quarterbacks he was up against in the Divisional and Championship rounds in terms of passing, his running game and overall play were more than enough to bring success to Philadelphia.

To compare, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford had 324 passing yards with two touchdowns, and Washington Commanders star Jayden Daniels threw for 255 yards and one touchdown - but was also intercepted. Hurts threw for a combined 374 yards over these two games, with one touchdown in total.

However, the Eagles QB ran for 86 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns on just 17 carries, showcasing his talent across the entire breadth of being a quarterback - rather than just in his passing game.

Additionally, he completed 20 out of 28 passes and three rushing touchdowns versus the Commanders, making him the first NFL player to have multiple playoff games in which he passed for a touchdown and rushed for three touchdowns.

The Eagles have also been bolstered by impressive running back Saquon Barkley, who joined from the New York Giants in March 2024. The sleek backfield star has accumulated over 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season and is entering Super Bowl LIX with heightened confidence.

With both Hurts and Barkley seemingly at peak form before the finale, ex-tight end Gronkowski will no doubt think twice this time before putting the Eagles' chance down to just one aspect of their star quarterback's game.