Jalen Hurts’ brilliant Super Bowl effort falls short – KGET 17

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Whether it was in the air or on the ground, Jalen Hurts dominated the Super Bowl offensively for the Philadelphia Eagles.

It just wasn’t enough to outplay Patrick Mahomes.

Hurts turned in a record-setting performance on football’s biggest stage, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown, running for 70 yards and three scores and adding the game-tying 2-point conversion.

But Hurts could only watch from the sideline as Mahomes led the Chiefs to a go-ahead field goal with 8 seconds left in Sunday’s 38-35 victory.

“It’s tough,” Hurts said. “We’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity, and it’s hard to miss out. You can always learn a lot, have the opportunity to think about some things that we didn’t do and could have done. There’s a lot to learn from tonight.”

Despite finishing with a loss, Hurts put together one of the most prolific games in Super Bowl history, but became the first QB to lose a big game while leading his team to at least 35 points.

He set the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl, tied Terrell Davis’ record for most TD runs by any player, tied James White’s mark with 20 scores and joined Hall of Famers Steve Young and Joe Montana as the only players to ever had at least 370 yards and four TDs (rushing and passing) in a Super Bowl.

“Jalen played the best game I’ve seen him play in the two years we’ve been together,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “He was outstanding. I really thought he was in complete control and did things with his feet in the run game, did things with his arm in the pass game, made some unbelievable throws, unbelievable reads. I thought he played outstandingly.”

But a breakout season that ended with Hurts finishing runner-up to Mahomes in MVP voting also led to him being the runner-up in the Super Bowl as Hurts became the first player to lose a Super Bowl despite having four touchdowns.

Hurts started the game fast and never slowed down — but couldn’t get a chance to get it at the end thanks to a defensive hold on James Bradberry that gave the Chiefs a first down in field goal range and helped them nearly run out the clock.

Hurts had one last chance and his desperation pass fell short and he woke up dejected.

It was a devastating way to end a brilliant performance.

“Jalen played a hell of a game,” center Jason Kelce said. “On the ground through the air. He obviously made some big throws. Both offenses were ready. It was one of those things where whoever had the ball last was probably going to be in a good situation. We knew if we put it back with five minutes (to go), you hope someone plays. But it is a difficult task. Patrick Mahomes is the MVP for a reason.”

Hurts scored on one of his patented sneaks on the opening drive, hit AJ Brown 45 yards on the first play of the second quarter, added a 4-yard rush late in the second quarter and then engineered a signature drive in the fourth quarter.

He connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, then capped the drive with a 2-yard run. He then ran it inside himself for a 2-point conversion to tie the game, but was mostly a spectator after that.

“It was a special performance that I don’t want to lose because of the loss they had,” Mahomes said.

The only thing Hurts didn’t do was fumble while switching hands with the ball, which led to Nick Bolton’s 36-yard TD return in the first half.

“I touch the ball every time so obviously you want to protect it,” Hurts said. “It hurt us. You never know what kind of play it’s going to be, but it hurt us.”

But that one mistake did little to slow down Hurts, who converted a 28-yard run on fourth down on the next drive to set up his second TD run of the game from 4 yards out.

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