Super Bowl LVII has one of the best quarterback matchups that we have seen for a few years. Both Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts spent some time during the year at the top of the MVP leaderboard, however, after an injury to Hurts late in the season, Mahomes would take over as the clear frontrunner for the award. These two players will have to be at the top of their games for their respective teams to have a chance to bring home the Super Bowl. We will break down both of their MVP caliber regular seasons and finally predict which player will have the better performance on Super Bowl Sunday.
Jalen Hurts’s Performance Through the Regular Season
Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to an incredible 14-1 record in the games that he started in. In the games that he missed due to injury, it was clear that the Eagles were an entirely different team that needed a player like Hurts to be able to compete. They finished the regular season 0-2 with Hurts on the bench with their losses coming to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.
On top of leading his team to wins, Hurts also put up some incredible numbers through the regular season. He threw for 3701 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Along with this, he was arguably the most dangerous quarterback on the ground this season as well. On 165 attempts, Hurts ran for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns. In terms of how he compared to the rest of the league, he finished the regular season ranked 10th in passing yards, 3rd in yards per attempt (min. 150 attempts), 11th in completion percentage, 14th in passing touchdowns, T-9 in interceptions (min. 150 passing attempts), 4th amongst quarterbacks in rushing yards, and first amongst quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns.
Patrick Mahomes’s Performance Through the Regular Season
Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a conference best 14-3 record this year. Through the regular season, Mahomes filled up the stat sheet, finishing with 5250 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Along with this, he ran for 358 yards and four touchdowns on 61 attempts. Mahomes dominated the passing stats this season, being ranked first in passing yards, second in yards per attempt (min. 150 attempts), 7th in completion percentage (min. 150 attempts), first in passing touchdowns, tied for 31st in interceptions (min. 150 attempts), and third in passer rating (min. 150 attempts).
Who Will Have the Better Game?
With these two players being amongst the best that the game has to offer at the quarterback position, it is very hard to forecast who will edge out the other in the biggest game of the season. Mahomes will likely finish the game with considerably more passing yards and touchdowns, however, Hurts may be able to close the gap if he can have a big day on the ground. With the Eagles giving Hurts a much superior supporting cast, it is likely that Mahomes will end up outperforming Hurts, however, it will be very tough to do against an elite Eagles defense.
