Jalen Hurts has faced criticism throughout his career, often focusing more on his failures than his achievements.
He was benched during a college football championship game, transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma to regain a starting position, and drafted in the second round as a backup before quickly becoming a starter and silencing doubts about his passing ability in the NFL.
All these challenges fueled Hurts to prove himself, and now, he is a Super Bowl MVP.
“I’ll always be the same guy,” Hurts said. “I was telling someone that I’m the same kid that came to a national championship and lost, went back and got benched, and had to transfer. I went through this unprecedented journey, but that kid always kept the main thing the main thing and stayed true to his vision of what he saw. It all started with greater leadership and doing it the right way.”
While Hurts wasn’t required to do much thanks to a dominant defensive performance from the Eagles, he made crucial plays when needed, showing the same calmness that’s been key to his career on football’s biggest stage.
He completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 72 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, avenging their Super Bowl loss to Kansas City two years ago.
“Dealing with everything that came with the last Super Bowl, still feeling empty because as great as the performance was, it wasn’t enough to win,” Hurts said. “Going through those emotions, processing them, lit a great flame in me. It enhanced my desire to win significantly.”
In that previous Super Bowl, Hurts threw for 304 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 70 yards and three scores, but the Eagles lost 38-35 when Harrison Butker kicked the go-ahead field goal with just 8 seconds left.
Hurts then signed a five-year, $255 million contract, but critics still questioned whether he was holding back the Eagles offense. Despite an early interception in this game—his first since Week 10 against Dallas—Hurts played nearly flawlessly against Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
Jalen Hurts huddles up with the teammates before the game“The criticism of him blows my mind because I think he’s so special,” said coach Nick Sirianni. “He won so many games, works his butt off, and just continues to get better. He blocks everything out and focuses on the task at hand.”
Hurts converted scrambles when facing pressure and consistently found open receivers. His 46-yard deep pass to DeVonta Smith in the third quarter made it 34-0, putting the finishing touches on the Super Bowl win.
“In the biggest moments, when there’s the biggest haters or doubters, this man just, I don’t know, just outshines and takes command,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata.
Hurts also threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown late in the first half and scored on a 1-yard tush push for the game’s first touchdown. His performance was historic, joining Hall of Famer Joe Montana as the only two quarterbacks to throw for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns, rush for at least 50 yards, and score a touchdown in a Super Bowl.
Hurts is now just the fourth quarterback to lose his first Super Bowl start and later win one, joining Hall of Famers John Elway, Bob Griese, and Len Dawson.
“We can’t rewrite history or do anything about the past, but we can make it even,” said A.J. Brown.
