Last 9 regular season MVPs have lost in Super Bowl
Mahomes looking to break trend
Patrick Mahomes is a fan of performance, not statistical trends.
The Chiefs quarterback was outplayed for three quarters yet rallied his team to a 31-20 win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
There is another alarming stat that Mahomes will have to snap to get head coach Andy Reid his second Super Bowl title, a number the Eagles are acutely aware of.
The last nine regular season MVP’s who reached the Super Bowl failed to win. That includes Tom Brady, who the Eagles defeated in Super Bowl LII.
The last MVP to bring home the Lombardi Trophy was Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner in 1999. Warner was MVP again in 2001 but came up short in the Super Bowl.
While games are won on the field, not on the stats sheets, rest assured Eagles trash talkers like Brandon Graham — already irritated that Jalen Hurts was runner-up in the MVP voting — will be throwing that line out there throughout the contest Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Anything to get into the head of the opponent and throw his concentration off for even a millisecond helps.
At any rate here are the last nine league MVPs who played in the Super Bowl lost:
2001: Kurt Warner 2002: Rich Gannon 2005: Shaun Alexander 2007: Tom Brady 2009: Peyton Manning 2013: Peyton Manning 2015: Cam Newton 2016: Matt Ryan 2017: Tom Brady
••• Hurts was taken aback on Media Night when asked if Mahomes was the best quarterback he’s faced head-to-head.
Mahomes beat the Eagles, 42-30 at the Linc last year.
“Ahhh, he’s up there, man,” Hurts said. “I mean he’s definitely great at what he’s doing. He’s been really great in his career. I have a lot of respect for him being a Texas guy.”
It was one of the few times Hurts has lost his focus in front of the media this week. Typically he talks about keeping “the main thing the main thing.”
But Hurts was back in the groove as the week ground on. His answers were more insightful than during the regular season.
“This is a moment that you definitely want to embrace everything with it because you worked really hard for this opportunity, but I think it’s important to stay neutral,” Hurts said. “I know there’ s whole group of people looking at me, expecting me to go out there and make things happen. Ultimately everyone has to dominate their job and do their job, but I think just being in this room and having this position on this team, the leaders need to lead and obviously you want your big-time players to make big time plays in a game
like this. But again, I don’t think that’s anything out of the ordinary of what we’ve done all year. I always go back to doing what what’s gotten us here.”
That includes the old dead leg, the move where Hurts lifts off, slams on the brakes with one leg and powers off in another direction.
Hurts rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season, and 72 yards and two scores in the playoffs. He’s also thrown for two TDs in the postseason.
Hurts is every bit as adept at using his skills as Mahomes.
“Mahomes has been great, being able to extend plays and playing backyard football,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said. “He’s a thrower, uses different angles. I think Jalen throws the ball incredibly well as well. But the biggest thing with Jalen is his legs and him being able to extend plays and make big plays off script. But obviously both of them are incredible quarterbacks. It’s going to be a matchup that everybody has been waiting to see. It should be a lot of fun on Sunday.”
• • •
The Eagles are 1.5-point favorites to beat the Chiefs Sunday, but Mahomes is favored to win MVP according to OddsChecker.com.
If form holds it will be the first time the losing quarterback has been MVP since linebacker Chuck Howley of the Cowboys intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in a 13-10 loss to the Baltimore Colts.
Mahomes (plus-130) is the favorite with Hurts (plus-140) and Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick next, although he’s a longshot.
The over/under on the national anthem by Chris Stapleton is 127 seconds.
Conventional wisdom is to always take the over on the anthem.
•••
This is the second Super Bowl for Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, the 32-year-old veteran of 11 seasons who hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 201718.
Cox played 68 snaps in the 41-33 win over the Patriots in SB LI. He’s played 52 total snaps in two playoff games, leaving him fresh to chase Mahomes or the running backs the quarterback throws screens to.
“The way to slow down a team that’s got a really good pash rush, really good players is you string them out,” Cox said. “Quick passes. You try to get them frustrated. You definitely want to put 300-plus pounds on the small receivers and make them feel you. I think they had 30-plus running back screens this year. You know they’re going to do that to try to slow you down.”
Whatever happens after this, the last game Cox is contract to the Eagles, is the next challenge for the first-round pick out of Mississippi State. For now, it’s about leaving everything on the field.
“We’re not at the top of the mountain,” Cox said. “We still have a couple hundred feet to go.”