Jalen Hurts delivers one of the greatest performances in a Super Bowl loss
Jalen Hurts delivered an MVP-worthy performance in his first Super Bowl appearance, but the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback was ultimately forced to watch Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in four seasons.
Hurts completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown, in the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Chiefs at State Farm Stadium. He became the first player in NFL history to eclipse 300 yards passing and 70 yards rushing and score three rushing touchdowns in a game, and his 70 yards rushing and three rushing scores are both Super Bowl records for a quarterback.
Hall-of-famer Otto Graham (1954) is the only quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a playoff game. Denver Broncos running back great Terrell Davis is the only other player to rush for three touchdowns in a Super Bowl.
One of the only mistakes Hurts made Sunday was a fumble early in the second quarter that Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton returned 36 yards for a touchdown.
“You either win or you learn,” Hurts, a third-year pro who led the Eagles to a 14-3 record and the NFC’s top seed in his second season as the full-time starter, said after Harrison Butker’s field goal in the final seconds lifted the Chiefs to a comeback win. “That’s how I feel. Win, lose or draw, I always reflect on the things that I could’ve done better, the things we could’ve done better to try to take that next step. That’ll be the same process that goes on now.”
Mahomes, who was named Super Bowl LVII MVP after completing 21 of 27 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, lauded Hurts in his postgame news conference.
“If there was any doubters left, there shouldn’t be now,” Mahomes said. “The way he stepped up on this stage and ran, threw the ball, whatever it took for his team to win, that was a special performance and I don’t want it to get lost in the loss that they had. Even whenever we got all the momentum in that game, and we went up eight points in the fourth quarter, for him to respond and move his team down the football field and run it in himself for the two-point conversion, it was a special performance by him, and you make sure you appreciate that when you look back on this game.”
Here’s a look at five other standout Super Bowl performances by players from the losing team.
Chuck Howley, Super Bowl V
Howley remains the only player from the losing team to be named Super Bowl MVP. The Dallas Cowboys linebacker intercepted two passes and helped force a fumble by Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V, which the Colts won, 16-13, on a field goal by Jim O’Brien with five seconds remaining.
“I was really surprised,” Howley told reporters after winning the award. “I didn’t think a member of the losing team – especially a member of the defensive team – would get the award. I was in the shower when they came in to notify me. It was a great honor.”
Tom Brady, Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LII is best remembered for the “Philly Special” – the trick play on fourth and goal that resulted in Eagles quarterback Nick Foles catching a touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton. Foles was terrific, completing 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns to capture MVP honors in the Eagles’ 41-33 win over the New England Patriots, and he needed to be, because his counterpart was excellent in defeat. Brady threw for a Super Bowl record 505 yards and three second-half touchdowns, but he lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter with New England trailing by five.
“Losing sucks,” Brady said after his third Super Bowl loss. “You show up and you try to win, but sometimes you lose and that’s the way it goes.”
Thurman Thomas, Super Bowl XXV
Thomas, the Buffalo Bills’ dual-threat running back, accounted for more than half of the Bills’ total offense in their 20-19 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV. The Hall of Famer finished with 135 yards rushing on 15 carries and caught five passes for 55 yards.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Thomas broke a couple of attempted tackles en route to the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown run that gave Buffalo a 19-17 lead. After Matt Bahr put the Giants ahead with a short field goal, Scott Norwood missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal, spelling the first of four consecutive Super Bowl defeats by the Bills. Giants running back Ottis Anderson was named MVP after rushing for 102 yards on 21 carries.
Terrell Owens, Super Bowl XXXIX
Owens finished with nine catches for 122 yards in the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to the Patriots. The wide receiver’s performance was especially impressive considering it came less than seven weeks after he broke his right fibula and tore a ligament in his ankle. Owens, who wasn’t cleared to return by the surgeon who inserted two screws and a plate in his ankle, said God allowed him to come back “when nobody in the world gave me a chance.”
“God is good,” Owens said. “God is great. I tried to tell people that from Day One that I was going to come back. We played a great team. My hat goes off to the New England Patriots. We’re a good team. It was a hard-fought ballgame.”
Larry Fitzgerald, Super Bowl XLIII
Fitzgerald’s second touchdown catch of the fourth quarter gave the Arizona Cardinals a 22-20 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes made an acrobatic touchdown grab in the final minute to lift Pittsburgh to its sixth Super Bowl title.
Fitzgerald had seven catches for 127 yards and two scores, including a 64-yard touchdown. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner had a big game, too, with 377 yards passing and three touchdowns, but he threw an interception that was returned 100 yards for a touchdown by James Harrison.