NEW ORLEANS — Jalen Hurts is one of five quarterbacks to make two Super Bowl starts before turning 27 years old. He’s one of eight quarterbacks to make two Super Bowl starts in his first five seasons.
Patrick Mahomes was the last quarterback to accomplish these feats before Hurts, yet the narrative has been different. Perhaps it’s because Mahomes won a league MVP before his first Super Bowl start or was considered the best quarterback in the league by the time he made his second Super Bowl start.
Two years ago, when Mahomes beat Hurts in Super Bowl LVII, Mahomes said of Hurts: “If there were any doubters left, there shouldn’t be now.” As Hurts and Mahomes set to face each other again in Super Bowl LIX, these doubts still remain of Hurts being considered one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
Mahomes still can’t figure out why that’s so.
“I honestly have no idea. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Mahomes said to CBS Sports on Thursday. “He goes out there and has success every single year it seems like. Whether it’s throwing, running, whatever it is. I honestly don’t know.”
Hurts already has taken the Philadelphia Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances in his five seasons and is the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, rush for 70 yards, and rush for three touchdowns in a game — doing it in a Super Bowl against Mahomes. Of the active quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl, Hurts is the only one who will start in multiple Super Bowls.
Already third on the all-time list in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (55), Hurts is the first quarterback to have 10+ rushing touchdowns in a season for four consecutive years. Hurts has a 5-3 postseason record, completing 65.8% of his passes with 17 combined touchdowns to just two interceptions in his career (93.1 rating). The nine rushing touchdowns Hurts has in the postseason are an NFL record.
“He just gets better and better,” said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “He can sit back there and be a pocket quarterback. He can beat you with his legs. He’s become pretty well-rounded. He’s got our attention.”
The Eagles have made the playoffs every year with Hurts as the starting quarterback and have a 46-20 record with Hurts as the starter. The .697 win percentage is fifth-best by a starting quarterback since the 1970 merger.
“If you look at his career, that’s all he does is win,” Mahomes said. “That’s what the most important job in the NFL is — it’s to win football games. If he’s asked to make the big plays happen, he makes them happen. I do not understand it.”
Mahomes knows the quarterback game all too well. There are plenty of things said every week when it comes to that position — the nature of the beast. Sound advice Mahomes and Hurts continue to use every week.
“It’s kind of part of the business,” Mahomes said. “People are gonna doubt you, no matter what.”
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Author: Jeff Kerr
February 6, 2025 | 4:56 pm
