The Eagles returned to the Super Bowl with their 55-23 rout of the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, and with that, Jalen Hurts broke a longstanding quarterback curse, too.
When he steps under center down in New Orleans against the Chiefs just under two weeks from now, Hurts will be the first starting quarterback to have made it back to the Super Bowl after losing his first attempt in two decades, and among a list of 19 names, per CBS Sports.
Jalen Hurts CURSE BREAKER pic.twitter.com/vioDxQk9dv
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 26, 2025
The list of QBs throughout Super Bowl history to lose their first time only to make the climb back is smaller by comparison, but they definitely have their stories, both for better and for worse.
Hurts and the Eagles are still trying to complete theirs, but the journey back already has him up there with some unique company – heavy Hall of Fame company, too.
Here's a rundown of the six quarterbacks who lost their first Super Bowl, made it back, and where they ended up (* denotes that they made the Pro Football Hall of Fame after)…
Len Dawson, Chiefs*
Dawson and the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs fell to MVP Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, 35-10, in Super Bowl I.
Four years later in Super Bowl IV, and after Joe Namath and the Jets pulled off the upset of the Colts the season prior, Dawson and the Chiefs made it back to come out on top this time.
Dawson completed 12-of-17 passes for 142 yards, a touchdown, and an interception to win the game's MVP, and the Chiefs trounced the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7, in the last Super Bowl before the completion of the AFL-NFL merger.
Bob Griese, Dolphins*
Griese and the Don Shula-coached Miami Dolphins ran into a buzzsaw when they pushed to Super Bowl VI at the end of the 1971 season, getting pummeled 24-3 by Roger Staubach, Tom Landry, and the Dallas Cowboys.
That hardly deterred them.
They were back the next year to beat Washington, 14-7, in Super Bowl VII to complete the 17-0 perfect season, then made it back-to-back titles for Super Bowl VIII with a blowout of the Vikings, 24-7.
John Elway, Broncos*
Elway had broken out into NFL stardom as one of the league's premier QBs, but his and the Broncos' first trip to the Super Bowl with XXI ended in disaster with a 39-20 loss to Phils Simms and the Giants.
Denver wasn't going anywhere though.
They were right back the next year for Super Bowl XXII against Doug Williams and Washington, but only to get trounced even harder, 42-10.
Then in 1990, Elway and the Broncos made another push only to get fed to Joe Montana and the 49ers in a bid for back-to-back championships, 55-10.
Elway was becoming one of the ones who couldn't get it done until finally, late into his career, the Broncos stunned Brett Favre and the Packers, 31-24, in Super Bowl XXXII, then made it back-to-back championships for themselves with a 34-19 thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII a year later.
- MORE EAGLES
- How the Eagles have matched up against their Super Bowl opponents
- Are the Eagles and Chiefs becoming true rivals?
- The Eagles' dominant return to the Super Bowl by the numbers
Jim Kelly, Bills*
Maybe the NFL's most painful scenario for coming back from an initial Super Bowl defeat.
Kelly and the Bills pushed to Super Bowl XXV, lost on "Wide Right" to the Giants, then made it back the next three years, only to lose all three in painful fashion to Washington and then the Cowboys twice.
It's a unique type of pain that exists in Buffalo.
Drew Bledsoe, Patriots
Bledsoe was the star of New England's show on the way to Super Bowl XXXI, but once there, Bill Parcells' Patriots didn't have the firepower to keep up with Favre, Antonio Freeman, Desmond Howard, and Reggie White chasing after a championship for the legacy.
Bledsoe would make it back to the Super Bowl a few years later, and see a win, though the catch was as Tom Brady's backup, as the future great had fully taken over and was on the way to leading the Patriots past the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Jalen Hurts, Eagles
And now there's Hurts.
Two years ago, he and the Eagles tore right through the NFC then battled Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to the brink in Super Bowl LVII, but fell a slippery field, an ill-timed hold, and just one last defensive stop short.
Hurts' play since has been heavily debated, but his protection of the football has improved dramatically since this season's early October bye, all while the offense got a game-breaker in Saquon Barkley to add on top of the pre-established weapons in A.J. Brown, Dallas Goedert, and DeVonta Smith.
That's not even to mention that Hurts put in arguably one of his best games since his MVP-caliber 2022 run with Sunday's effort in the NFC title clincher.
Hurts made it one time, and before Joe Burrow could or for Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to even get there at all, he's made it back – against Mahomes and Kansas City again, too.
Now it's a matter of whether he and the Eagles can make better on it this time.
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports