PHILADELPHIA — It was locker clean-out day for the Philadelphia Eagles Tuesday and emotions were still raw for the players following Sunday’s narrow 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was among those still feeling the pain of defeat but said he is highly motivated to restart the climb, with the intention of securing the Lombardi Trophy this time around.
“I’m going into Year 4 hungrier than ever, starving for more,” Hurts said, “and I just want to challenge myself to be the best quarterback, leader, man I can be for my teammates and this city and impact the people around me the right way so maybe the next time around we can finish it off the way we want to.”
Hurts, who missed two games with a sprained right shoulder, finished second in league MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes, going 14-1 as the starter during the regular season while throwing for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns to six interceptions while rushing for 760 yards and 13 scores.
He had a costly lost fumble against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl that was returned for a touchdown but put together one of his best performances of his career overall, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown and rushing for three more scores. He engineered an 8-play, 75-yard fourth quarter drive to tie the game at 35-35, but Mahomes answered with a drive of his own, leading to a late Harrison Butker field goal and a Chiefs win.
“It stings. It stings. But I’m embracing everything that comes with it and I’m embracing the challenge ahead,” Hurts said. “This team will have that mentality moving forward. I’m going to have that mentality. And there’s a true eagerness to move forward with the right intensity, the right focus, the right type of fortitude.”
Hurts, 24, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is now eligible for an extension – a deal that could command an annual salary of $45-plus million based on recent quarterback contracts. Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio last week that Hurts doesn’t have “anything to prove” to be the team’s long-term answer at quarterback, adding that Hurts is “just what we’re looking for” when asked about the prospects of initiating contract extension talks.
“The thing I’m most focused on is winning,” Hurts said Tuesday. “The only thing I care about is winning and ultimately winning championships. There will be a day where that conversation can be had but today isn’t that day.”
