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Patrick Mahomes won the Super Bowl MVP title in addition to the league MVP award he captured just two days before the final game. It was well-deserved considering he was the winning quarterback of the game.
However, there were those who would say that it was not fully merited given Jalen Hurts had a better game on the night. Considering the close score, 38-35 in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs over the Philadelphia Eagles, one could argue that had the scores been reversed, Jalen Hurts would have won the MVP.
In fact, there has been a clamor to award him the prize even though he was on the losing team because he was the better performer.
One person who certainly agreed with that assessment was former NFL head coach Mike Smith. As the winningest coach in Atlanta Falcons' history, he knows a good performance when he sees one. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda's "The BallFather Podcast," he said:
"Oh, there's no doubt. I mean, he wasn't the MVP of the game. But he had a better game than the quarterback that got the MVP. There's no doubt I mean, the things that he did, he had that one bad play, where he fumbled. And it led to the the fumble recovery which was picked up and walked into the endzone. But besides that, if they would have been on the winning side of the ledger, they would have been given him the MVP trophy and he'd be going to Disney World."
Patrick Mahomes v Jalen Hurts: how did they compare in the Super Bowl?
Considering the assertions made by coach Mike Smith, we should see if his keen eye has discerned something that the stats substantiate.
Patrick Mahomes threw for just 182 yards and completed 21 of his 27 passing attempts. He did have three touchdowns and no interceptions with a passer rating of 131.8.
Jalen Hurts threw for 304 yards and rushed additional 70 yards on the ground. He accounted for one passing touchdown and three rushing touchdowns and did not throw a single interception either.
Based on every statistic above, Jalen Hurts was a better player on the night. However, he was responsible for one fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
Ultimately, remaining error-free is a core requirement for any championship-caliber quarterback, and despite his exceptional performance, that came back to bite them. Patrick Mahomes executed more flawlessly on the night and came away with the Super Bowl MVP award, just as many had predicted before the game.
