Mahomes Gives Chiefs QB Edge In Super Bowl

Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts were the best quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL season, so it’s only fitting that they will meet in Super Bowl 2023. A combination of impressive stats and team success allowed the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles stars to finish in the top two in MVP voting.

Mahomes won the MVP award for the second time in five years, garnering 48 out of 50 first-place votes. Hurts didn’t get a first-place MVP vote, but he received most of the second-place votes and finished as the runner-up for the award.

Four previous Super Bowls have featured two quarterbacks who were that season’s MVP and the runner-up. In each matchup, the runner-up won the championship.

It’s possible that Hurts could’ve won the MVP award if he didn’t suffer a shoulder injury that cost him two games and affected him in Week 18. Hurts had a league-best 14-1 record as the Eagles starting quarterback.

The stats comparison between the two quarterbacks, however, was too much in Mahomes’ favor.

Mahomes led the league with 5,250 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. Mahomes’ 105.2 passer rating was only 0.3 points behind Tua Tagovailoa for first, and the Chiefs quarterback had the best rating of any signal caller who started more than 13 games.

With a 511-yard edge over Justin Herbert, the gap between Mahomes and the league’s No. 2 passer was greater than the distance between Herbert and the No. 8 passer, Geno Smith. Mahomes had six more touchdown passes than Joe Burrow and Josh Allen. Mahomes was 11 touchdowns ahead of Smith, who ranked fourth.

Mahomes’ 67.1% completion rate ranked seventh and put him just 0.1 percentage point out of fifth. His 8.1 yards per attempt were also second to Tagovailoa.

Hurts’ stats put him just behind Mahomes in a couple of passing categories. The Eagles quarterback had 8.0 yards per attempt and ranked third overall. His 101.6 passer rating was good for third among quarterbacks who started at least 12 games. Hurts completed 66.5% of his passes.

Hurts finished 10th with 3,701 passing yards. Although he was more than 1,500 yards short of Mahomes, it’s an impressive feat, given that Hurts missed two games and picked up so many of his yards on the ground. Hurts ran for 760 yards on 4.6 yards per carry with 13 rushing touchdowns.

Hurts totaled 35 touchdowns and only threw six interceptions. Every other quarterback who was responsible for at least 30 touchdowns threw more than 10 interceptions. Mahomes was picked off 12 times.

Mahomes had 358 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. He posted a 14-3 record.

The 2022 season was Hurts’ third year in the NFL and his breakout campaign. Hurts only made four starts as a rookie. He was an average quarterback in his second season. The Eagles quarterback was an elite performer on the way to the 2023 Super Bowl. Hurts will need to have another All-Pro caliber season in order to be widely viewed as a top-tier quarterback.

Mahomes’ sustained level of greatness for a half-decade makes him the best player in the NFL. In all five seasons as the Chiefs No. 1 quarterback, Mahomes has made the Pro Bowl and played at home in the AFC Championship Game. The 27-year-old is a two-time First-team All-Pro selection and a one-time Second-team All-Pro.

Mahome won two regular-season MVP awards and could soon add a second Super Bowl MVP trophy to his mantle.