Jalen Hurts has now had two pretty good performances on the Super Bowl stage. This time around, he and the Philadelphia Eagles took down the Kansas City Chiefs in a dominating 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX, and Hurts was the one who took home Super Bowl MVP honors Sunday night.
Hurts' ability to distribute the ball and hit on explosive throws truly jumpstarted the Eagles' offense. Philadelphia, due to many factors, smothered Kansas City before the Chiefs could even find ways to settle in. Hurts also displayed one of the smoother quarterback performances in recent Super Bowl memory. At the same time, the Chiefs' defense indeed made things much too easy for Hurts to operate.
Hurts picks his poison
Jalen Hurts has always been a player that exudes poise. That has been true during his time with the Eagles, but he was also that way throughout his college career, first at Alabama, then transferring to Oklahoma after getting benched by the Crimson Tide. His teammates simply feed off of the calmness that he shows in big games.
In Super Bowl LIX, Hurts could easily do anything that he wanted. He rarely faced pressure, which allowed him to sit in the pocket all night long. When he did scramble to the outside, the Philadelphia signal caller remained under control and executed tight throws on the sideline.
Meanwhile, Hurts had plenty of room to roam with his legs. The Chiefs defense was too confused and left areas vacated, allowing the quarterback to take the open grass in front of him. Having those easy options allowed Hurts to pick his poison on seemingly every offensive snap.
Downfield passing remains a strength of Hurts
There are not many quarterbacks in the NFL who can throw a better deep ball than Jalen Hurts. His rhythm throws or ability in the quick passing game can be volatile at times. Yet, Hurts was consistently effective in this Super Bowl, thanks to his deep passing prowess.
The accuracy and pinpoint touch on those deep throws are consistent with Hurts' game. For instance, he had many throws on Sunday night placed where only his guy could get to it. That includes throws to the perimeter and down the seams. The drop in a bucket that he displayed on the touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith was the ultimate dagger after a dominant first half.
Chiefs defense fails on fundamentals, provides little resistance
Was this loss completely on the fault of the Chiefs defense? No. However, there were some fundamental mistakes that Kansas City had not really showed since the regular season loss to the Buffalo Bills. Interestingly, the Chiefs handled star running back Saquon Barkley fairly well all night. His longest rush was 10 yards.
But while K.C. had their sights set on Barkley, they became undisciplined with their eyes and feet. Play action mesh points, as well as horizontal stretch action on routes, allowed for too many wide-open throws. Hurts had some passes in which he simply just had to lob it out there for his guy to go and get. Eagles' pass catchers were able to get open due to miscommunication, not gaining leverage, and failing to provide resistance early in the route by Chiefs defenders.