NEW ORLEANS — Jalen Hurts didn’t look like someone who had just won a Super Bowl, someone who had a masterful performance in leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a dominant 40-22 victory over the back-to-back defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
But here he was, moments removed from confetti falling on his face and winning game MVP, his usual calm and collected self. Not too high, not too low. A smirk here and there.
“It’s been a fun ride,” the Eagles quarterback said at the postgame news conference. “I’ve embraced every step. I took great pride in never backing down from a challenge. Always turning my negatives into positives. Turning my weaknesses and making them my strengths. It’s taken a great effort to evolve my game over time and just continue to grow and improve.”
When Hurts refers to turning negatives into positives, he can cite a few major moments in his career. In college, he led Alabama to the 2016-17 national title game, a loss to Clemson. The following year he was benched midway through the championship game in favor of backup Tua Tagovailoa, who led a dramatic comeback victory for the Crimson Tide. Hurts decided to transfer to Oklahoma.
As a pro, he played brilliantly in Super Bowl 57 — 304 yards passing with a score. However, the Eagles came up just short to the Chiefs.
Sunday was different. He became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to lose his first Super Bowl and later win. The others? John Elway, Bob Griese and Len Dawson — all Hall of Famers.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had one of the worst games of his career in Sunday’s Super Bowl, said he knew Hurts would eventually find redemption.
“I have a lot of respect for Jalen,” Mahomes said after the game. “I said after the last Super Bowl we played that he’ll be back. He was, and he got the better of me today. I’m sure we’ll face off again at some point in our careers in a big game like this.”
Asked about Mahomes' comments, Hurts reflected on what he gained from the previous loss.
“In the end, things come right on time. The last time around, it wasn’t our time. It wasn’t my time. Sometimes you have to accept that you have to wait your turn,” he said. “Dealing with everything that came with the last Super Bowl, you still kind of leave empty, because as great of a performance it was, it wasn’t enough to win. I think going through those emotions and processing those things and processing that experience lit a great flame in me and enhanced my desire to win significantly.”
Make no mistake about it: The difference for Philadelphia in the Super Bowl was on the defensive side of the ball. The Eagles forced three turnovers — including a 38-yard pick-six by Cooper DeJean — and sacked Mahomes six times, the most in his career.
But Hurts, 26, also did his job to the best of his ability.
He finished the rematch with 221 yards passing with two touchdowns, as well as 11 carries for 72 yards and a score. His 77.3% completion percentage ranks fourth all-time in Super Bowl games behind Phil Simms, Drew Brees and Mahomes.
In a game in which most of the talk last week was about how the Chiefs would try to shut down star running back Saquon Barkley, it was Hurts who shined the brightest under the biggest lights.
Though considered a very good quarterback by fans and pundits alike, he is rarely mentioned when it comes to the position’s “elite.” Mahomes with his three Super Bowl victories is typically the first player mentioned. Then the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen or the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.
Hurts, despite the impressive statistics both in the air and on the ground, has been on the outside looking in over the last few seasons. Some of that is because of the incredible weapons around him in Barkley, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and an exceptional offensive line.
That narrative might now change with a championship under his belt.
“I find it funny when it’s, like, ‘Jalen is good, but he’s got a good team around him.’ That’s football. You cannot be great without the greatness of others,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “Jalen can’t do it by himself. He needs A.J., he needs that offensive line, he needs Saquon, and vice versa. The reason Saquon has this special year is not only the offensive line, but the attention that Jalen commands for the run game. He’s special. Jalen’s special.”
At the podium late Sunday, Hurts didn’t show much emotion. He did, however, perk up when he was asked about his unique journey to this point.
“I think in the end, it comes down to how people look at you. I’m always going to be the same guy,” he said. “I was telling someone earlier, I’m that same kid that went to the national championship and lost. Went back and got benched and had to transfer and had to go through this unprecedented journey. That kid always kept the main thing the main thing and always was true to his vision.”
It's safe to say that kid would be proud.
