Jalen Hurts: Overlooked, Underappreciated, Super Bowl MVP
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By Dylan Kane - February 26, 2025
Football is a team sport, but there’s no doubt that the quarterback is held to a different standard, win or lose.
When you lose, no matter if it’s a close, low-scoring game or a high-scoring blowout, the quarterback takes the brunt of the blame.
Patrick Mahomes has certainly experienced this in the past hours.
When you win, no matter if it’s a close, low-scoring game or a blowout like we just saw the Eagles do in Sunday night’s Super Bowl, the quarterback is highly praised.
Jalen Hurts should be rewarded with such praise after winning Super Bowl MVP and leading an Eagles team through a dominant season, but the immediate reaction after the Super Bowl win has generally favored the team as a whole compared to the typical highlighting of the winning quarterback.
I’m not taking any issue with this, however I do think Jalen Hurts deserves his flowers.
Especially when you consider that the last time this story unfolded, the Eagles narrowly lost to the Chiefs 35-38, with Hurts criticized for a crucial fumble that led to a Nick Bolton touchdown. This despite a four touchdown, 374 total-yard effort of his own.
According to Fox’s broadcast during this year’s Super Bowl, Hurts’s first words after that loss were to his assistant coach in the locker room.
“I’ll be back. We’ll be back.”
Well, he wasn’t lying.
Hurts threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns to the tune of a 77% completion percentage in a 40-22 victory over a Chiefs team coming off back-to-back championships and the NFL’s best regular-season record. A game that seemed to be over before Kendrick Lamar took the stage for the halftime show. He also added 72
yards on the ground, the most ever in a Super Bowl for a quarterback, with a rushing touchdown.
Of course, football is a team sport. The Eagles defense that held the mighty Chiefs offense to only 38 total yards well into the third quarter and nearly broke the Super Bowl sack record surely deserves their credit. Runningback Saquon Barkley had one of the best seasons ever for his position, winning NFL’s offensive player of the year award.
But why aren’t we talking about Hurts the same way we would about Josh Allen, Joe Burrow or even Mahomes if they were in the same boat?
Well, Hurts is used to it.
This is the same guy who was benched in the National Championship game at Alabama. The same guy who had his own fanbase questioning why they drafted him in the second round when they already had Carson Wentz. The same guy who analysts believed should have switched to wide receiver or tight end before the draft. The same guy who’s had his passing ability and franchise-quarterback status continually be questioned throughout his career.
Those doubters have now been silenced.
As Brandon Graham forcefully said to Hurts immediately after the game before his post-game interview:
“Let them boys know! Tell them to get off your back!”
But instead, Hurts remained stoic. Hurts first thanked God, and then his teammates in a moment of humility which may also contribute to why he doesn’t get the respect he deserves.
He’s all business. He doesn’t care how many interceptions he throws, how many times he scores via the infamous “Tush Push.” He just wants to win.
In a world of sports media that thrives off of hot takes, drama and tearing people down, when someone like Hurts comes around who doesn’t make headlines off the field, always says the right things and shows up to work everyday with his lunch pail and hardhat, it’s not intuitive to put him on a pedestal.
Even just getting to the Super Bowl this year should’ve been highlighted more as a major accomplishment. No other active quarterback besides Hurts and Mahomes have more than one Super Bowl appearance (as a starter).
These Hurts-led Eagles just scored 55 points in a conference championship game and 40 in a Super Bowl.
And yet, after all of that, I foresee that the conversation around Hurts will remain muted. There won’t be a parade of pundits proclaiming him as one of the top-5 quarterbacks in the league. No debates about whether this was one of the greatest Super Bowl performances ever. No narratives shifting to make him the face of the NFL.
But maybe that’s just who Hurts is—steady, unshaken, uninterested in demanding attention. He lets the wins speak for themselves. At some point, the rest of us should probably start listening.
Because the reality is, he’s no longer just the guy who was doubted. No longer just the quarterback who came up short. Jalen Hurts is a champion. A leader. A Super Bowl MVP.
And that deserves to be said loud and clear.