It is that time of the year when the National Football League (NFL) garners global attention due to one event: The Super Bowl.
This year’s event will be the 57th edition which will see National Football Conference (NFC) champions Philadelphia Eagles take on American Football Conference (AFC) champions Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday to a global audience of more than 200 million people.
The Eagles are gunning for a second title in what is their fourth Super Bowl appearance in history, having claimed their first in 2017. They are also the fourth team to reach at least three Super Bowls since 2004 after the New England Patriots (seven), Pittsburgh Steelers (three) and Seattle Seahawks (three). The Chiefs are looking for their third Super Bowl following the success of 1969 and 2019.
The Super Bowl LVII will be the first time two black quarterbacks will face off in the Super Bowl and all attention will be on Jalen Hurts for the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs.
History. 🙌@JalenHurts | @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/fYQUVQ0hxE
— NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2023
Hurts will be only the second black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl for the Eagles after Donovan McNabb at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville in 2005. The 24-year-old will also be just the eighth black quarterback to start in the history of the Super Bowl.
In an era where diversity and inclusion matters, this is a huge milestone for the black community not only in the United States but globally in a sport that has not historically had many prominent black quarterbacks due to racial discrimination, and Hurts wants to use his platform to inspire the next generation.
“That four-year-old, five-year-old kid back in Houston, back in Philly, back in Texas, Louisiana, wherever across the world, it shows that regardless of what someone may say or have an opinion about you, you can do it,” Hurts told Sky Sports.
“I value the platform I have, I’m sure like Pat does, as well. We just want to inspire the next people.”
The Eagles were a team on fire during the regular season, losing only three games out of 17 as they topped the NFC ahead of the San Francisco 49ers whom they also beat 31-7 at Lincoln Financial Field to become Conference champions. They also defeated the New York Giants 38-7 to win the Divisional Playoffs.
Jalen Hurts is going into the Super Bowl HOT. 👀#FlyEaglesFly | #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/hh5yAvSE8S
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 4, 2023
Hurts was very instrumental in this run to the Super Bowl for the Eagles, with his stats during the regular season reading:
Passing yards: 3,701
Touchdowns: 22
Rushing touchdowns: 13
Touchdown percentage: 4.8
Interceptions: 6
Interceptions percentage: 1:3
Touchdown to interceptions ratio: 3.7
Pass attempts: 460
Pass completions: 306
Pass completion percentage: 66.5
Yards per pass attempts: 8.0
Adjusted yards per pass attempts: 8.4
Adjusted net Yards per attempts: 7.3
Sacks: 38
Fumbles: 9
Winning percentage: .933
Quarterback rating: 101.5
Adjusted quarterback rating as per ESPN: 66.3.
Some of Hurts’ milestones during the regular season include:
Becoming the first player with at least 900 passing and 100 rushing yards through three games since 1950.
- Becoming the third quarterback under the age of 25 after Dan Marino and Jared Goff to start and win each of his team’s first eight games of a season since 1950.
- Becoming the first player with at least 150 rushing yards, 150 passing yards, and two passing touchdowns in a single game since 1950.
- Becoming the second quarterback to record at least 10 rushing touchdowns in multiple seasons, joining Cam Newton. Hurts also became the first quarterback to reach the mark in consecutive seasons.
Hurts was equally solid during the postseason, putting in some of the following numbers:
Passing yards: 275
Passing touchdowns: 2
Pass completion: 31
Pass completion percentage: 63.3
Passing attempts: 49
Yards per pass attempts: 5.6
Touchdown percentage: 0.04
Interceptions: 0
Sacks: 2
Quarterback rating: 91.8
Adjusted quarterback rating as per ESPN: 73.3
All these stats and figures have put Hurts in contention for the MVP award and could be the first Eagles quarterback to win it since Norm Van Brocklin in 1960.
Work still to be done#SuperBowlLVII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/KeD7LRHt1G
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 3, 2023
Hurts is clearly poised to take charge in Sunday’s Super Bowl in Glendale. The Houston-born quarterback is keen to win rather than reflect on what has been a brilliant season for him.
“It’s really hard for me to do that [reflect]. I try to enjoy the moment, but my joy comes in winning. I know the job isn’t done. I never knew how far we would come, I never knew how far we’d go, but I never said it couldn’t be done,” Hurts said after the Eagles NFC Championship win over the 49ers.
Former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who won the Super Bowl in 2017, waxed lyrical about Hunt’s leadership qualities.
“I think, just do what he’s been doing,” Foles told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s had an MVP-caliber year. Most importantly, he’s been leading the guys well, and they respond to him.
“You can tell that when he steps on the field there is a huge effect on the game, and that’s what makes a player so valuable.”
Eagles captain Fletcher Cox also commented about Hurts, asserting that even if the chips are down for the Eagles, Hurts’ ever-positive and never-die attitude could be a plus for the team.
“Even at times when things aren’t going our way or his way, you never see him really frustrated,” Cox said on the Eagles website.
“You never see him screaming at each other on the sideline or screaming at a teammate for messing something up or it didn’t go the way he wanted it to go.
“When your quarterback is like that, you definitely want to go out there and play harder for him.”
Things simply seem to fall in place for Hurts. From a draft pick in 2020, to a starter by the end of his rookie year, to a team captain and full-time starter in his sophomore year at the age of 23.
Hurts is already living the dream not many his age have achieved. Indeed he becomes only the eighth quarterback to start a Super Bowl before his 25th birthday and the youngest quarterback to feature for the Eagles.
“I was going through a really tough time in college.”@JalenHurts never stopped believing in himself. #SBLVII
📺: #SBOpeningNight on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/j1txkZUEPw
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2023
Hurts might have a rival in Mahomes, who has also had a brilliant season with the Chiefs but Hurts is on a mission to prove doubters wrong about his prospects when he was drafted.
Some believe he was not good enough to make the draft in 2020 but now that he’s in the Super Bowl in just his second full season, Hurts reveals a Bible verse that has been a source of motivation for him.
“My first year here (people) probably didn’t even want to draft me here,” he said. “It was probably one of those things. But it always handles itself.
“My favorite (Bible) verse, I went through a lot of stuff in college and it kind of stuck with me, John 13:7: ‘You may not know now but later you’ll understand.’ Hopefully people understand.”
The stage is now set in Glendale for Hurts to conquer.
