Peyton Manning expects Jalen Hurts to be more comfortable in Super Bowl LIX: ‘He thrives in these types of moments’

The last time Jalen Hurts was in the Super Bowl, he was a second-year starter seeing everything the Big Game has to offer for the first time.

Two years later, Hurts is a much more seasoned signal-caller who has now guided the Philadelphia Eagles back to the Super Bowl in a rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. And yet, one of the major questions going in is whether Hurts will be able to pull his weight after a season in which Philadelphia struggled at times throwing the football.

But two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning isn’t all that concerned about Hurts. Manning said on Friday’s “Pat McAfee Show” that the 26-year-old “thrives in these types of moments,” and should be far more comfortable this time around.

“I think he’ll be way more comfortable,” Manning said. “With [Patrick] Mahomes, he gets his mail sent to the Super Bowl every year because he knows he’s gonna be there. Hurts — I remember talking to him a couple years ago about any advice, what’s the routine and he didn’t call me for that this year because he knows it. I think the more comfortable you are during the week, the better you’re gonna play. And [Nick] Sirianni — I talked to Nick about it, and he said, ‘Do you have any thoughts?’ I’m like, ‘Nick, you know what to do.’ I think they’ll kind of put the gameplan in this week as if they’re gonna play Sunday and next week you go down and review.

Jalen Hurts, Eagles back in Super Bowl after previous defeat

“But look, Jalen is probably one pass interference from a couple years ago from being a Super Bowl champion quarterback. He is a championship quarterback from college, so he thrives in these types of moments, and I see him playing well. I think a lot of attention is gonna be on Saquon [Barkley] as it should, including from the Chiefs and Spags. So, I think Jalen and [AJ] Brown and [DeVonta] Smith are going to have to do some things in the passing game, and he certainly can do that.”

In their previous Super Bowl meeting, Hurts thrived. He completed 27-of-38 passes for 304 yards and a score, adding 70 rushing yards and three additional touchdowns. The Chiefs came out on top, 38-35, but there’s reason to believe in Philadelphia that scoreline could look a lot different next Sunday.

Enter Barkley, the 2,000-yard rusher whom the Eagles signed this past offseason. In theory, Hurts doesn’t have to be the star; he just needs to do his job.

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