NFL
Quarterbacks 1-18 Super Bowl curse
By returning to the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts has banished a long-standing quarterback hoodoo.
Jalen Hurts, a man who often says he doesn’t believe in curses, has broken one of the most persistent hoodoos in Super Bowl history.
Over the past three decades, 19 straight quarterbacks who lost on their debut in the championship game had not returned to the showpiece event. Until Hurts came along.
To understand the magnitude of his return, we need to talk about the cruel nature of the Super Bowl. The NFL is relentless with the defeated. It doesn’t grant second chances easily. Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, Colin Kaepernick, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow... they all lost at the first attempt in the NFL’s biggest game, and don’t have a repeat appearance between them. Drew Bledsoe got back to the Super Bowl, yes - but he watched from the bench as Tom Brady made the Patriots, and the history books, his own. Since the mid-1990s, a loss in your first Super Bowl had meant the beginning of the end.
Hurts rips ups the established script
But Hurts has never been one to follow someone else’s script. The 26-year-old’s story is one of a man who has refused to accept that his future is already written. At Alabama, he lost his starting job in the biggest game and watched Tua Tagovailoa take the spotlight. Instead of crumbling, Hurts worked quietly, waited for his moment. He went to Oklahoma, resurrected his career, led the Sooners to the playoffs, and became a presence impossible to ignore.
When the Philadelphia Eagles selected Hurts in the second round of the 2020 Draft, they did so without absolute certainty about his future. Carson Wentz was the starter; Hurts seemed like a QB who would take time to deliver. But when Philadelphia put him on the field, he responded. He earned the league’s respect with his work ethic and mental toughness. He became the leader of a team with identity, character and hunger. In 2022, he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. He played an extraordinary game, with three rushing touchdowns and one passing TD, but Philadelphia lost out to the Kansas City Chiefs. For many, that was his golden opportunity. His big chance.
Eagles QB emulates Bills great Kelly
But Hurts doesn’t care about what went before. Two years later, he is back in the Super Bowl. He returns to the championship game as the first quarterback to defy the curse of the defeated debutant and earn a second bite at the cherry since the Bills’ Jim Kelly in 1993. He does so with the same composure that has defined his career. He does so after defeating the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game with an authority that made it clear Philadelphia was no accident, but a force. He does so after ending the streak of 19 quarterbacks who fell short after their first Super Bowl loss.
If there’s a quarterback made to defy trends, it’s Hurts. John Elway lost in his debut and tried again. He fell more than once before finally winning his ring. Now Hurts has the same opportunity. There are no guarantees in football. No guaranteed poetic justice. But one thing is certain: Hurts has never been the type of player to surrender to a pre-written narrative. And that, in the NFL, is sometimes all that matters.
Super Bowl LIX: when, where, how to watch?
In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9, 2025. Held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Viewers in the U.S. will be able to watch Super Bowl LIX on Fox, Fox Deportes and Telemundo - and can stream the networks' coverage on fubo, which offers a free trial.
Article originally written in Spanish, before being translated with the assistance of AI, and edited and expanded by William Allen.
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