PHOENIX – In his second year as a full-time starter, Jalen Hurts finished as runner-up in voting for the AP Most Valuable Player award.
Hurts, 24, finished second in balloting by a panel of 50 football media to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who Hurts faces in Super Bowl LVII Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. The results were announced at the 12th annual NFL Honors Thursday at Symphony Hall. Voting took place before the playoffs began.
It’s only the latest honor for Hurts, who was named to his first Pro Bowl and was also named 2nd-team all-pro (behind Mahomes).
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Hurts also placed third in balloting for AP’s Offensive Player of the Year with 18 points, behind Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (44) and Mahomes (21). A.J. Brown finished 11th with two points in 5-3-1 voting.
“All of those individual awards, you don’t do those things by yourself, any of them,” Hurts said earlier this week. “Obviously, blessed to be up for that award and blessed to be here (at the Super Bowl). Definitely soaking it all in. It’s been a lot of hard work to be where I am and to be where we are.”
This is Mahomes’ second MVP award. He also won it in 2018. He’s the ninth multiple winner, joining Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Kurt Warner, as well as running back Jim Brown.
The other finalists were Vikings wide receiver Jefferson, Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. It was revealed previously that the top three were Mahomes, Hurts and Jefferson.
NFL
Hurts went 14-1 during the regular season and is 16-1 overall including his first two postseason wins. On Sunday, he’ll become the seventh-youngest quarterback in history to start a Super Bowl and try to join Ben Roethlisberger, Mahomes and Tom Brady as the fourth QB under 25 to win a super Bowl.
He ranked third in the NFL with a 101.5 passer rating, eighth in completion percentage, fourth in interception ratio and second in yards per completion. He also finished second in the NFL with 13 rushing TDs and ran for 760 yards.
Hurts became the third quarterback in history with 750 rushing yards and a 100 passer rating, joining Robert Griffin III in 2012 and Lamar Jackson in 2019. His 13 rushing TDs are second-most in history by a quarterback – Cam Newton had 14 in 2011 – and his 35 total touchdowns (22 passing, 13 rushing) were fourth-most this year, behind Mahomes (45), Allen (42) and Burrow (40), and tied Randall Cunningham’s franchise record from 1990.
“I’ve just been diligent,” Hurts said. “I’ve been diligent with everything. I’ve truly embraced the grind. I find a thrill in the process of getting better. I find a thrill in just chasing it every day, and that takes consistency and I try to remain diligent with all of that.
“I don’t look at the grand scheme of things, I just try and go to work. If anyone wants to reflect on anything, just reflect on the work, because that’s what comes first.”
The only Eagles MVP in the award’s 66-year history is Norm Van Brocklin, who won it in 1960 - his final season - when the Eagles won the NFL Championship.
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