Super Bowl LVII on Sunday will feature two of the best young quarterbacks in the game, and their contrasts are striking.
One of them, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, works his magic with the pass, and although some of his passes aren’t traditional over-the-head throws, they’re very effective while also acting as daggers through the hearts of opposing teams.
The other, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, is not exactly a traditional QB, and his path to the NFL has been even less traditional.
NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky says Hurts winning the Super Bowl could be a transformational moment for the QB position and the league as a whole.
.@danorlovsky7 thinks a Super Bowl win would mean more to Jalen Hurts than Patrick Mahomes 🤔
“[Jalen Hurts] was supposed to be a running back in the NFL. … with a chance to become a Super Bowl-winning quarterback … this changes the storyline of the NFL in many ways.” pic.twitter.com/uKsBQcJlfA
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 7, 2023
Many have doubted Hurts’ ability to be a top-level signal-caller going back to his college days at the University of Alabama.
As a sophomore, he led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game as their starting QB, but when they fell behind 13-0 at halftime, he was benched, as freshman Tua Tagovailoa took over under center and led them to a comeback win.
Hurts was a second-round draft pick in 2020, and the Eagles initially intended for him to be a third-string QB, but early in the season, he was promoted to the QB2 spot behind Carson Wentz.
Late in the schedule, Wentz was benched and Hurts became the starter, and although he showed promising flashes of play that year and the following season, some were not completely sold on him being a franchise QB.
But he answered those critics this season by completing 66.5 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,701 yards.
Hurts’ main talent is his ability to run the football, and the narrative has been that a dual-threat QB cannot win a Super Bowl.
By leading the Eagles to a win on Sunday, he can poke holes in that narrative.
