Jalen Hurts has made history simply by returning to the Super Bowl after experiencing defeat in his first appearance as a starting quarterback.
This time, he aims to join the ranks of only three quarterbacks who have managed to win the NFL’s premier championship after losing their initial Super Bowl outing.
His previous attempt was two years back when the Philadelphia Eagles narrowly lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Glendale, Arizona.
If he clinches victory next week in New Orleans, Hurts will become the first quarterback to secure a Super Bowl title after a loss since John Elway did it 27 years ago.
Among the 36 starting quarterbacks who have faced defeat in their Super Bowl debuts, only Kansas City’s Len Dawson, who lost in Super Bowl 1 and achieved victory three years later, and Miami’s Bob Griese, who overcame a loss in Super Bowl 6 to win the following year, have won as starters in subsequent appearances.
Hurts has achieved the rare feat of returning to this prestigious stage, breaking a streak of 19 consecutive quarterbacks who were unable to reach the Super Bowl again after a first-time loss.
The last to make a repeat appearance was Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills, who lost four consecutive times from 1990 to 1993.
Once again, Hurts faces Patrick Mahomes, who is about to make his fifth Super Bowl start, creating a tie with Elway for the second-most starts by a quarterback, only behind Tom Brady’s record of ten.
With a victory, Mahomes would further join the elite company of Brady (six), Terry Bradshaw (four), and Joe Montana (four) as the quarterbacks with the most Super Bowl rings.
Mahomes is part of a select group in the AFC, where only six quarterbacks have started in a Super Bowl over the last 22 seasons.
Brady has had the most starts with eight, while Peyton Manning has four and Ben Roethlisberger three. Joe Flacco and Joe Burrow each have one since 2003.
Conversely, the NFC has seen a more diversified group, with 19 quarterbacks sharing the 22 starting spots, including one for Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hurts stands as one of only three quarterbacks alongside Russell Wilson and Eli Manning to start in two Super Bowls for an NFC team since 2003.
In their road to the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles relied heavily on their rushing attack.
They matched an NFL playoff record by scoring seven rushing touchdowns in their NFC title game victory over Washington, equaling the record set by Chicago against Washington in the 1940 NFL title game.
Hurts contributed three of those touchdowns, while Saquon Barkley added another three, marking his seventh rushing touchdown of at least 60 yards this season and setting a new record.
Historically, only two players have achieved three or more rushing touchdowns each in a regular-season or playoff game since 1940, those being Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock during a Kansas City rout of Atlanta on October 24, 2004.
As a team, the Eagles set a record for total rushing yards in a season with 3,731, surpassing Miami’s previous high of 3,535 from their perfect 1972 season.
Additionally, the Eagles are just three touchdowns away from breaking their own record for most rushing touchdowns in a season, holding 39 ahead of the Super Bowl.
Josh Allen, the Bills’ quarterback, once again fell short in a playoff matchup against Mahomes and the Chiefs.
He is the first quarterback to suffer four playoff losses to another quarterback, yet much of the blame doesn’t rest on his shoulders.
Allen has recorded a passer rating of 100.2, registering 11 combined touchdown runs and passes along with just a single turnover in four playoff encounters with Kansas City.
His playoff passer rating of 101.5 puts him fourth among the 74 quarterbacks with at least six playoff appearances in the Super Bowl era, trailing only Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Mahomes, Kurt Warner, and Matthew Stafford.
Moreover, Allen holds the record for the most playoff victories as a starter without reaching a Super Bowl, tallying seven wins.
The Bills have become the first team to secure 11 or more wins in five consecutive seasons without making an appearance in the Super Bowl, breaking the prior record of four held by both San Francisco (1995-98) and Philadelphia (2000-03).
As for coaching changes, the carousel is nearing completion as the New Orleans Saints remain the only franchise out of seven that dismissed their head coach without securing a replacement yet.
This new class features four coordinators stepping up to their initial head coaching roles and two familiar names returning, including former Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel in New England and Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
Carroll’s appointment sets him among the select few coaches, including Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer, who have had non-interim tenures with four different franchises since 1940.
His inclusion strengthens a competitive group of coaches in the division, led by Andy Reid of Kansas City, who boasts 301 career wins and is aiming for his fourth Super Bowl title.
In total, Sean Payton of Denver and Carroll have a combined total of 360 wins, both carrying Super Bowl victories.
Jim Harbaugh of the Chargers also stands out with a .685 winning percentage over five seasons, having made one Super Bowl appearance and obtained a college championship.
He aims to join Carroll, Jimmy Johnson, and Barry Switzer as the only coaches to win titles in both college and professional football.
Next season will mark the first time the AFC West starts the season with all head coaches having previously reached a Super Bowl.
This is a unique situation, as the last division to come close was the 1999 NFC West, which featured four coaches who had made Super Bowl appearances, yet one, Steve Mariucci, had not.
Stability prevails in two divisions where no coaching changes occurred, namely the NFC West and AFC North.
In the AFC North, this consistency has endured since the 2019 season when Cleveland appointed Kevin Stefanski to replace Freddie Kitchens, making it the longest stretch ever for any division without a coaching change.
