If Patrick Mahomes is a lock to be in the NFL Hall of Fame one day, then Jalen Hurts should join him soon after.
Hurts' Philadelphia Eagles beat Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday in New Orleans. It was the second time the two met in a Super Bowl, with the Chiefs winning the first matchup two years ago.
With Hurts concluding his fifth NFL season as Super Bowl MVP, he's not that far behind Mahomes, who ahead of Super Bowl LIX was getting compared to Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.
Mahomes was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, three years before the Eagles took Hurts in the second round out of Oklahoma. Mahomes backed up Alex Smith his entire rookie season, while Hurts began as the third-string before taking over as QB1.
By the end of Year 5, Mahomes had appeared in two Super Bowls and won one while earning MVP honors. Mahomes won his first Lombardi Trophy in his third season before losing in the Super Bowl the next year.
Hurts, now after five NFL seasons, also has two Super Bowl appearances with a Super Bowl MVP honor. Like Mahomes, Hurts also played in his first Super Bowl during his third season before winning it all in his fifth.
There's a lot to be determined in the next three seasons to see where Hurts will be at by Year 8 in comparison to Mahomes. For Hurts to stay on par would require three more Super Bowl appearances and two Lombardi Trophies.
It's easy to laugh off the comparison considering what Mahomes has achieved and what we witness him do on the field on a weekly basis. But we've seen Mahomes and Hurts go head-to-head on the biggest stage twice, and Hurts outperformed Mahomes both times.
Even in the 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, Hurts accounted for four touchdowns -- three on the ground and one through the air. He posted 374 total yards. Mahomes in that game scored three times with 226 total yards. Hurts would have been MVP had the Chiefs not mounted the comeback.
In Super Bowl LIX, Hurts scored three times with two passing touchdowns and one rushing. He threw for 221 yards and also led the Eagles with 72 rushing yards, totaling 293 yards.
The Chiefs as a whole had 275 yards of offense, with Hurts outdoing them by himself. Mahomes threw three TDs, with two coming in the final three minutes, and was intercepted twice, including a pick-6.
These last three seasons were when Mahomes took the leap from really good to maybe the best to ever play. However, the Eagles are structured to still succeed the next three years, and a Super Bowl MVP seemed to have risen Hurts to the next tier of NFL quarterbacks and what he's capable of.