Eagles-Dolphins Sunday Night Football intro highlights Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa’s Alabama careers

Alabama fans got to relive a little bit of history prior to Sunday Night Football this week. With Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts going head-to-head in the Dolphins-Eagles games in primetime, NBC decided to highlight the former Crimson Tide stars.

The network put together a special video, highlighting the college careers of both Tagovailoa and Hurts. The two played together at Alabama, winning the national championship following the 2017 regular season.

Sunday night’s video was pretty awesome. Here’s a look at the tribute video, which aired prior to kickoff:

Playing against each other for the first time ever, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts lead two teams in a matchup made for Sunday night!

📺: NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/tyTzWdswmE

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 22, 2023

Hurts started his career at Alabama, playing for the Tide from 2016-18. He then transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 when it appeared Tagovailoa would be the next starter for Nick Saban.

Tagovailoa was at Alabama from 2017-19.

Sunday night marked the first time the two players have gone toe-to-toe as NFL quarterbacks. Both Miami and Philadelphia entered the Week 7 showdown with 5-1 records.

Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa lead Alabama to title in 2018 CFP

During the 2017 regular season, Hurts was Alabama’s starter, leading the Tide to an 11-1 record and reaching the College Football Playoff.

But the story of Hurts and Tagovailoa started in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Hurts struggled, completing just 3-of-8 passes for 21 yards and the Tide trailed Georgia 13-0 at halftime.

So Saban made the decision to bench Hurts and bring in Tagovailoa for the second half. That proved to be a smart decision.

Tagovailoa provided Alabama with a spark in the second half, outscoring Georgia 20-7 in the second half and forcing overtime at 20-20.

Alabama’s defense then held the Bulldogs to a field goal and Tagovailoa finished off the game by completing a 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith on 2nd-and-26 in overtime.

Tagovailoa ended the game completing 14-of-24 passes with 166 yards and three touchdowns. It was one of the wildest finishes to a college football season we’ve ever seen.

Hurts transfers to Oklahoma

Before his final season, Hurts decided to transfer to Oklahoma with a better chance to win the starting job. Tagovailoa then completed his career with the Crimson Tide. Both had sensational seasons.

Tagovailoa and Hurts were both selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa in the first round with the fifth overall selection. Philadelphia picked Hurts in the second round at No. 53.

Both players earned their first Pro Bowl selections in 2022.