Jalen Hurts started the season facing questions about his play and that of the Eagles offense. He ended it with Philadelphia winning its second Super Bowl trophy in franchise history -- and with Hurts hoisting the game's Most Valuable Player award.
Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the 40-22 win. His first TD pass put the Eagles up 24-0 before halftime, and his second gave them an insurmountable 34-0 edge. The Chiefs made the score slightly more respectable, scoring 22 points in the final 16 minutes, but Hurts and the Eagles had built too big a lead.
Hurts also ran for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl with 72, breaking his own mark set in Super Bowl LVII (70) when Philly came up short against the Chiefs. This time, the Eagles were up enough points to insert backup Kenny Pickett into the game for the final kneel downs to preserve the mark.
Quarterbacks have won MVP in seven of the past nine Super Bowls. Hurts' adversary on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes, had earned three of those himself, but he was not the best quarterback at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
"He just keeps he just keeps getting better," head coach Nick Sirianni said of Hurts. "He knows how to win. He does a great job of being able to block out all the outside noise. I find it funny when it's like, you know, 'Well, Jalen is good because he's got a good team around him.' Like, that's football -- you cannot be great without the greatness of others. Jalen can't do it by himself. He needs A.J. (Brown). He needs that offensive line. He needs Saquon (Barkley) and vice versa. The reason Saquon has a special year is not only the offensive line, but the attention that Jalen commands for the run game. Jalen is special and the criticism just blows my mind because I think he's so special and has won so many games and works his butt off and just continues to get better."
The Chiefs set out to bottle up Saquon Barkley, holding him to 97 scrimmage yards on 31 touches. But in the end, Hurts and a relentless Eagles defense were too much for the Chiefs to handle.
For Hurts, it's a career-defining performance, breaking through the glass ceiling some thought he never would. He played tremendously at times in the Eagles' Super Bowl loss two years prior, but he also cost his team with a fumble that was run back for a score.
Last season, the Eagles ground to a halt after a 10-1 start, and the relationship between Hurts and Sirianni was under the microscope. A 2-2 start this season didn't help matters, with Hurts' seven turnovers sounding alarm bells.
Hurts also had faced plenty of adversity prior to the Super Bowl loss two years ago, getting benched at halftime of the CFP National Championship Game at Alabama.
But Sunday was his moment, even if he wasn't perfect.
Hurts did have an interception that left points on the board in the first half, but the turnover could be excused. After his early-season rash of miscues, Hurts said “I think it starts with me” -- and since then, Hurts only turned the ball over four times through Sunday's Super Bowl victory.
Plus, the Eagles defense had Hurts' back with a dominant performance, generating six sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six) and a forced fumble.
At game's end, Hurts watched as the confetti fell on his head and pondered the biggest victory of his football career.
"God is good -- even in the highs and the lows," Hurts said upon receiving the Pete Rozelle Trophy. "Couldn't be here without my teammates. The effort, the determination everybody displayed to get to this point. It's never been about what any one of us does, it's always been about what we do and how we're responding to certain things. Hell of a game today."
