Jalen Hurts is not a Super Bowl champion. The Philadelphia Eagles, who Hurts quarterbacks, fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 on Sunday (Feb. 12). However, despite a Sul-crushing defeat, Hurts played phenomenally. In his third season in the NFL, Hurts debatably outplayed the league and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes, who has been Kansas City's QB since 2017, had 182 passing yards while completing 21 of his 27 attempts. This manifested into 3 touchdowns. Additionally, he ran for 44 yards on a bum ankle. Hurts, on the other hand, threw for 304 yards while completing 27 of 38 attempts. He added 70 rushing yards to that with a total of 4 TDs.
The 24-year-old Texan had an incredible evolution this season, and last night's game was the ultimate showcase of that growth. Philadelphia fans first saw him as incapable of being a starting QB in the league. Now, he is arguably one of the five best in the game. In Super Bowl LVII, Jalen became the only QB in the history of the big game to lose while producing 4 touchdowns. Additionally, Sunday's 300 pass yards, 50 rush yards, and 3 rush TDs from Hurts was the second time he accomplished those numbers in his career. No other QB in the history of football has had a game with those numbers. Needless to say, he is legit. But, what makes him even more special is how excellent of a person he is off the field.
Jalen Hurts' Humility
After his tough defeat, Hurts was tasked with going to the podium for a press conference. In typical fashion, players on the losing end aren't too fond of these postgame pressers. But, when asked by a child reporter his thoughts on the game, Jalen answered with thoughtfulness and grace. "What is one lesson that you learned from this game that you'll take on to the next?" the kid asked. "I think you want to cherish these moments. You want to cherish these moments with the people that you've come so far with. Your family, your loved ones, your teammates, your peers, everyone that you do it with and do it for," Hurts responded.
"I'm so proud of this team for everything that we've been able to overcome.," Hurts continued. "Obviously we had a big time goal in the end that we wanted to accomplish and we came up short. I think the beautiful part about it is everyone experiences different pains, everyone experiences different agonies of life but you decide if you want to learn from it. You decide if you want to use that to be a teachable moment. I know what I'll do." Although he wasn't a winner on the field Sunday, Jalen Hurts' winning attitude off of it will continue to pay dividends in the future.
