At long last, Jalen Hurts has silenced his doubters. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback lifted his team to Super Bowl victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in a lopsided 40-22 win, clinching the first Lombardi Trophy of his young career.
It’s a heartwarming tale of Super Bowl redemption for Hurts, who got knocked out by the Chiefs two years ago on this very stage and who faced perennial criticism over whether he was good enough to be an NFL franchise quarterback dating back to his Alabama days.
But a handful in the league knew that he was, including Mahomes.
After the Chiefs’ loss, Mahomes gave Hurts his flowers and explained what he respected the most about the 26-year-old star.
“The one thing that I’ve always respected about Jalen is that he’s a winner,” Mahomes told reporters postgame (at the 8:35 mark in the video). “Some people take that as like it’s not a good thing, but you have to find ways to win with your football team that you have around you.
“He’s come into the NFL and done (that) his entire career. If he needs to run the ball, he’ll run it, if he needs to throw the ball, he’ll throw it. If he needs to make a big play, he’ll make a big play. That’s stuff that not everybody has.”
On Sunday, Hurts joined Nick Foles as the only Eagles players in franchise history to win Super Bowl MVP, throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 72 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the big game.
Hurts, who notably finished behind Mahomes for the league MVP award in 2022, has led the Eagles to the postseason in each of the four years he’s been the starter in Philly. His recent dominant Super Bowl victory feels less like the peak of his NFL career and more like the glorious start of a new era for the Eagles.
Something tells us there’s a good chance this won’t be the last time these two elite quarterbacks face off in the Super Bowl.
More of the Latest Around the NFL
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Mahomes Had Powerful Line About Jalen Hurts Being a ‘Winner’ After Super Bowl.
