History makers

Hurts, Mahomes set to become first Black QBs in same Super Bowl

PHOENIX: Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are days away from being part of a momentous occasion.

Mahomes and Hurts are slated to become the first pair of Black quarterbacks to start in the same Super Bowl when they lead the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, into action on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.

Both players are NFL MVP finalists, and both are very aware of the symbolism involved.

“I think it’s historic,” Hurts said during Super Bowl LVII Opening Night on Monday in Phoenix.

“I think it sets the foundation for what’s to come. So many kids out there, so many kids, [coaches] may tell them to change their position or whatever it is. [Remaining at quarterback] can be done, and this is a historic moment. I know it will be a show. It will be a fun one.”

Hurts is confident about the Eagles’ mindset entering the Super Bowl.

“I didn’t put in all that work for no reason. I feel like this team hasn’t put in all the work that we’ve put in for no reason,” he said. “We’ve come here to finish the job we set out to do.”

Hurts referred to “the work” time after time during his remarks at Super Bowl LVII Opening Night, held at Footprint Center.

Hurts is 16-1 as the starter for the NFC champions Eagles this season.

“We just want to go out there and do what we’ve done this whole entire time, to try and play clean football and play together,” Hurts said. “I didn’t work this hard to stay the same. I put all this work in, we put all this work in, to have opportunities like this. It’ll be a fun one.”

Hurts, 24, passed for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season.

Mahomes said he has tonnes of respect for the Black quarterbacks of previous eras, specifically naming Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl when he guided the Washington franchise to a 42-10 rout of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. “It’s a historic moment and to be a part of it with two historic football teams,” Mahomes said.

“So many people laid down the foundation before us. To be playing with a guy like Jalen, who I know is doing it the right way, it’s going to be a special moment that hopefully lives on forever.”

Mahomes is one of three Black quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl.

He guided the Chiefs to a 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.

Russell Wilson is the other. He led the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 rout of the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

‘NO PRESSURE’

Mahomes will play in his third Super Bowl in four seasons and insisted he isn’t feeling the least bit of pressure.

At 27 years, 148 days, Mahomes will be the youngest quarterback to start three Super Bowls.

He will join Tom Brady as the only signal callers to start three in their first six NFL seasons.

“I don’t feel the pressure,” Mahomes said.

“I feel the pressure of proving my teammates right every day, being the man that I try to set the example to be, and that’s coming to work every day and giving everything I have.

“If I do that the rest of this week and in the game, I believe we will come out with a win. And if we don’t, I will know that I gave everything I had to come out with a win and that’s what I can always live with.”

Mahomes split his previous two Super Bowl appearances and said he learned more from the 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV than the 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers one season earlier.

Mahomes is enjoying a season to remember and led the NFL with 5,250 yards and 41 passing touchdowns.

The yardage marked the second 5,000-yard season of his career and came after the offseason trade of star wideout Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said: “He’s a great guy, a great person and he works extremely hard. He wants to be the best. As a coach, you go ‘what more can you ask for?’

“And he handles himself the right way. He handles himself the right way in the locker room and with the front office and the coaches.”