Jalen Hurts didn't walk away from his first Super Bowl with a ring, but he did gain a fan in Patrick Mahomes.
"If there were any doubters left, there shouldn't be now," Mahomes told reporters after his Chiefs pulled off a 38-35 win over Hurts' Eagles. "The way he stepped up on this stage, ran, threw the ball, whatever it took for his team to win, that was a special performance. I don't want it to get lost in the loss that they had.
"Even when we took the momentum in that game and we went up eight points in the fourth quarter, for him to respond and move his team right down the football field and run it in himself in the two-point conversion—it was a special performance by him."
USA TODAY Sports @usatodaysports"If there were any doubters left, there shouldnt be now..." <br><br>- Patrick Mahomes on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts performance during <a href="">#SuperBowl</a> 57 <a href="">
Hurts was sensational Sunday night, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown while adding 70 yards on the ground and tying the Super Bowl record with three rushing scores.
His lone gaffe—a second-quarter fumble Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton returned for a touchdown—proved costly, but it was an otherwise sterling performance for the Eagles star.
"Jalen played the best game I've seen him play in the two years we've been together," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. "I really thought he was in complete control. He did things with his legs in the run game and his arm in the pass game. He made some unbelievable reads, unbelievable throws. I really thought he played outstanding."
Hurts came into the 2022 season with some questioning whether he could emerge as the Eagles' long-term answer at quarterback. He answered all those questions and then some, putting up MVP-caliber numbers in the regular season before leading Philadelphia to an NFC championship.
The Oklahoma product threw for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns against six interceptions while adding 760 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He'll head into 2023 as the undisputed face of the Eagles offense and should be in line for a massive contract extension.
It's not quite a Super Bowl ring, but it's not a bad consolation prize.
