There’s not much pride in losing, except for Jalen Hurts– who finds humility and a myriad of lessons to be learnt from failure
GLENDALE, Ariz.– Less than 30 minutes after the confetti settled at State Farm Stadium some 20 minutes outside downtown Phoenix, a glum Jalen Hurts sits at a press lectern. Hurts had dominated in football’s biggest stage, throwing for 304 yards and finishing with a 103.4 passer rating.
38-35.
If you ask anyone, Hurts played at an unstoppable level. If you ask Hurts, it wasn’t enough.
“I always hold myself to a very high standard with everything that I do,” Hurts said of a second quarter fumble returned for a touchdown. “Obviously, I try to control the things that I can. I touch the ball every play. Obviously, you want to protect it. It did hurt us. It hurt us. You never know what play it will be.”
Despite his blunder, his play received applause from foes and friends alike. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes raved about his unreal performance, “If there were any doubters left, there shouldn’t be now,” Mahomes said.
He continued, “I mean the way he stepped on this stage and ran, threw the ball, whatever it took for his team to win, I mean, that was a special performance that I don’t want it to get lost in the loss that they had. I mean, even when we had all the momentum in that game and we went up eight points in the fourth quarter, for him to respond and move his team right down the football field and run it in himself for the 2-point conversion, it was a special performance by him, man and you make sure you appreciate that when you look back on this game.”
As Jalen Hurts sat, an unlikely reporter approached him at the stand. 15-year-old Eagles superfan and podcast host Giovanni Algarin asked Hurts one final question.
Algarin asks, “”What is one lesson that you learned from this game that you’ll take on to the next?”
Hurts’ face lights up, mind you not even a full hour from the conclusion of what one could argue was one of the toughest nights of his life.
“I think you want to cherish these moments with the people that you’ve come so far with,” says Hurts in a livelier tone relative to the somber atmosphere that surrounded the conference room.
“You know, your family, your loved ones, your teammates, your peers, everyone that you do it with and [who] do it for you. And, you know, I will say I’m so proud of this team for everything that we’ve been able to overcome. Obviously, we had a big-time goal in the end that we wanted to accomplish and we came up short.
“You know, I think the beautiful part about it is, everyone experiences different pains, everyone experiences different agonies, everyone’s experience is different, but you decide if you want to learn from it. You decide if you want to use that to be a teachable moment.
“And I know what I’ll do.”
Hurts delivered one of the best masterclasses in not only loss management, but life lessons with that short, 25-second answer. Hurts throughout the game was on pace to break Super Bowl records and even be voted Super Bowl MVP. On Sunday, Jalen Hurts shined underneath the desert night, throwing for 304 yards and one touchdown. He scored another 3 on the ground, tying the rushing touchdown record and obliterating the quarterback rushing TD barrier in the process.
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“I know what I’ll do” speaks volumes, and is a memoir to the journey of Hurts’ football career.
Adversity and bad endings are nothing new to Hurts, who in 2018 was benched in the College Football National Championship game for now-Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts had led his Alabama Crimson Tide to the zenith of the sport in ’18, yet didn’t perform to head coach Nick Saban’s expectations.
Still, even amidst a self-loss, Hurts was determined to keep a good attitude. After Alabama’s win, he chose to praise Tua for his performance instead of drowning in self-wallow, “I knew he was gonna step in and do his thing. We have a lot of guys in the QB room that play really well, he just stepped in and did his thing… did his thing for the team.”
The following season Hurts transferred to the University of Oklahoma where he led the Sooners to a 12-2 season, subsequently ending up back in the College Football Playoff. A loss to LSU put an abrupt ending to Hurts’ Cinderella story.
Drafted in 2020 to the Philadelphia Eagles, Hurts didn’t earn the starting gig right away, with head coach Doug Pederson electing to sit him behind vested veteran Carson Wentz.
Fast forward to 2022, when Hurts and the Eagles’ superteam looked poised to put a period at the end of their storybook season. Up 24-14 at the half in the Super Bowl, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles were bound to put it away.
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But sometimes, the tiles don’t fall in your favor. Philadelphia couldn’t put up with Kansas City’s surge of offensive performance in the second half, ultimately leading to a 38-35 win by the Chiefs. This meant that history had repeated itself for Hurts… so close yet so far from a championship.
Instead of placing the blame on the team, which had its woes in the final two frames, Hurts instead chose to look at the man in the mirror and soul search, ““You either win or you learn. That’s how I feel. You either win or you learn. Win, lose, I always reflect on the things I could have done better, anything you could have done better to try and take that next step. That’ll be the same process I always have going on.”
Hurts’ self-reflection comes at a critical point in the Eagles timeline. Some worry that Philadelphia’s window is closing fast, with many long-time players on the team up on the free agent block or severely impacting the cap space. Keystones like defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, center Jason Kelce, and bell cow running back Miles Sanders all have futures that are unsure or in severe limbo. Hurts’ star-studded entourage may not return for the 2023 year.
Either way, the Eagles have plenty to learn from Sunday’s loss. Even with the controversial holding call on cornerback James Bradberry, the Eagles simply couldn’t keep pace with Kansas City’s high-octane offense. A defensive meltdown when it mattered most might be where the Eagles want to start, with Patrick Mahomes only throwing 6 incompletions throughout the game. Isiah Pacheco’s performance allows leaves questions about Philly’s boots on the ground mentality, with gaping holes being open all night.
For Hurts, the path is simple. You can’t dwell on the past for too long, because there will always be next year. Hurts’ 16-2 record throughout the 2022 season might’ve been impressive, but it’ll be wiped clean come August. For Hurts, one sentence runs true.
He knows what he’ll do.
Amazing read, Yuva! I have a new found respect for Jalen Hurts. His humility shines on and off the field and, he will continue to excel. I am truly glad that players like Hurts have this platform from the NFL to show young athletes the true importance of not only football, but all sports. Jalen Hurts knows what he will do; continue to set an example and continue to learn and grow as a player and person. You did an amazing job summarizing his attitude and mindset into an article. Keep it up!