Dan Orlovsky publicly apologizes to Jalen Hurts after Super Bowl win: I’ve ‘been the hardest on him

Jalen Hurts‘ doubters are eating their words on Monday morning after he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a dominant 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. During an appearance on First Take on Monday, Dan Orlovsky owned up to his previous critiques of Hurts’ game.

“I owe publicly Jalen Hurts an apology,” Orlovsky said. “I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is have his two best games of the year on the two biggest stages that the game has been on, the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl.

“He was sensational last night… He made one bad play last night in a Super Bowl against the fourth-ranked defense in the NFL that was giving up, on average, 18 points a game. One mistake, one bad play, and all Jalen Hurts has done is constantly believed in himself, no matter what anyone has said.”

In the win, Hurts completed 17-of-his-22 pass attempts for 221 yards and two touchdowns while only throwing one interception. Additionally, Hurts led the Eagles in rushing, picking up 72 yards and a score in the ground game.

For his efforts, Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP. Of course, fans shouldn’t have necessarily been surprised by Hurts’ standout showing. Hurts was also spectacular in the Eagles’ 55-23 blowout win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship.

With the Eagles’ season on the line, Hurts completed 20-of-28 passes for 246 yards and a score. He also racked up three rushing TDs in the victory. With Jalen Hurts’ statement season still fresh on his mind, Orlovsky issued a challenge to the other star QBs around the league.

“I know it made the rounds and became a big deal, when I said, ‘I don’t think he’ll ever pass a Joe Burrow or a Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, talent-wise.’ And I still feel that way,” Orlovsky said.

“I also said, if he wins it, and is a huge reason why — and he was — we will ask the question of, why can’t you get it done, Joe? Why can’t you get it done, Josh? And why can’t you get it done, Lamar, just like Jalen has? And that’s the question that we’ll ask moving forward. Jalen did it. Those other guys now have to as well.”