As the confetti fell and his Philadelphia Eagles teammates celebrated around him, Jaylen Hurt still looked like the calmest man in Super Bowl 59.
After five NFL seasons filled with ups and downs, expectations and pressure, he had just fulfilled his dream and won the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Hurts told reporters immediately after the game that he was processing his emotions, and it seems the Super Bowl MVP hasn’t fully come to terms with what happened.
“I’m still processing it,” the quarterback told CNN’s Phil Mattingly on “The Lead” while celebrating with his family at Disneyland in Florida. “I don’t know if you should have a sense of anticipation, I just think about all the effort, all the time, all the blood, sweat and tears that I’ve put into my career and all the lessons that I’ve learned through the ups and downs. So I’m very grateful for that.” “I’m very grateful for everything I’ve been through. I’m also very grateful for my teammates, my family and all the support.
Hurt’s performance on Sunday was extraordinary and was probably the best of his career – both in college and professionally. The 26-year-old set a new Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback (72) and completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as his team completely smothered the Chiefs.
The quarterback’s performance deserves all the praise he gets, but leading his team to a Super Bowl title hasn’t always been Hurts’ forte. He made his big-league debut in 2017, leading the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. It proved to be Hart’s first taste of real disappointment, as Alabama suffered a 35-31 defeat to Clemson.
He returned in the same game a year later, but was benched at halftime after a poor performance by Tua Tagovailoa. The Crimson Tide defeated Georgia in overtime thanks to a heroic performance by Tagovailoa, but Hurts was relegated to a reserve role the following season. Hurts had no choice but to take the hit, and he later transferred to Oklahoma State, where he successfully reinvented himself as an NFL prospect.
In 2023, he has a chance to make history on the biggest stage by leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite a good performance, Hertz suffered another defeat.
“Everything happened on time. “You just have to run your race and keep going,” he told CNN after finally defeating his critics.
“It’s been a journey of ups and downs, and I’ve learned a lot from it.” I’ve never shied away from a challenge and I’ve never let adversity get in the way of my dream of being the best person, the best leader, and the best player I can be.
“To come to Philadelphia, make history, bring another championship to this city, that means everything.”
Unlike in the AFC Championship Game against the Bills two weeks ago, where the Chiefs were able to use the pick-and-roll and the crossover, Reid never found a short-to-mid range solution to attack Philadelphia’s zone defense. NFL Next Gen Stats recorded just two defensive breakdowns by the Eagles, committing 42 sacks all night.
Mahomes got the first touchdown in the opening minutes of the game on a triple RPO, but the Chiefs couldn’t find a solution without RPO passes to consistently create space. They tried to flood those zones with multiple receivers, but Philadelphia did a good job of crossing routes and matching Kansas City’s concepts.
It’s clear that Mahomes doesn’t want to test Quinian Mitchell and Darius Slay.
Outside cornerback for the Eagles. He threw over the line three times in the first half, gaining a total of 2 yards. The Chiefs looked to attack the middle line, but he completed four of 11 passes for 30 yards and had two interceptions in the first half. He had more success in the second half, throwing the ball to the sideline when he had no other options, but it was too little, too late. Mahomes didn’t play well. It’s important to make that distinction.
This game will go down in history as his last Super Bowl loss, with clear similarities. In both games, he seemed to run hard every time because the opposing offensive line was too porous and unable to stop the opposing defense. In Super Bowl XV, Todd Bowes’ Buccaneers defense kept the pressure on and forced shots on quarterbacks while Fangio hit three or four quarterbacks all night, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.
The story seems to be this: If the defense can pressure Mahomes, he’ll get in trouble. Mahomes was outstanding in the Buccaneers’ loss. He wasn’t perfect, but he extended plays in impossible situations and made incredible passes that were ultimately dropped or missed. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin clips are there for a reason