Patrick Mahomes exhibited his stellar character with a classy gesture towards Jalen Hurts after the Kansas City Chiefs were outclassed by the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX.
The quarterback endured a nightmare evening in New Orleans as the Chiefs watched their three-peat hopes go up in smoke with a crushing 40-22 defeat on Sunday night.
Mahomes, in particular, looked as vulnerable as he ever done in his entire career as the Chiefs failed to protect him, and the three-time NFL champion cut a forlorn figure as the Eagles began their celebrations early on the touchline.
But despite being handed a humiliating thrashing by Philadelphia, he showed his sportsmanship by congratulating his fellow QB in front of the media.
Mahomes, 29, walked over to Hurts, 26, and the pair cupped hands before embracing with a hug. The former then appeared to mutter something in his ear before they went their separate ways.
After his previous two glorious performances, this was a night that the NFL star will want to purge from his memory.
Despite throwing three touchdown passes in the end, two of them came in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were already half celebrating.
And the passer was left vulnerable to being pummeled by the opposition’s linebackers after being sacked on six occasions. Mahomes was shaken into a panic and also threw two interceptions – one of which was pick-sixed by Cooper DeJean for a 38-yard touchdown.
As a stark contrast, Hurts used his power as a dual-threat quarterback to perfection – rushing one yard to open the scoring with a touchdown and passing for A.J Brown and DeVonta Smith to get two assists.
The Eagles were able to exact revenge on the Chiefs for their 38-35 defeat in Super Bowl LVII back in 2023, ending the Chiefs hopes of becoming the most dominant team in NFL history by winning the Lombardi trophy in three consecutive seasons.
Reflecting on their success, Hurts said: “Personally, I’ve been able to use every experience and learn from it – the good, the bad, and use it as fuel to pursue my own greatness.
“I couldn’t have done anything though without the guys around me… we’ve got a special group this year. We’ve been able to learn from the past and bring in some nice new pieces to get us over the hump.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni heaped praise on his ‘selfless’ players for their stellar performance, with the defence and offence both working in unison to limit Mahomes’ influence in the game.
“That’s a great football team. We had to come out and play our best and we did,” Sirianni said.
“And what a lesson to the entire world about what good teamwork does. We have selfless guys that don’t want to let each other down.
“We have guys that will fight for each other, that will play hurt. They love each other and it takes a lot of work to develop that. That’s a team right there.”
