Jalen Hurts had to overcome a fumble that gave his opponents a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes had to deal with a re-injured ankle. They achieved record results in the biggest football match. And not one of them was white. If this is the outcome of the estate two black quarterbacks face off in the Super Bowlthen the NFL should have done this a long time ago.
Hurts and Mahomes combined to finish 48-from-65 passes, carried the ball 21 times, accounted for seven touchdowns, accounted for 600 yards of total offense and put on one hell of a performance in a game that lived up to the hype. (Also, shoutout to Rihanna – she and her baby bump were amazing.)
Black QBs are on the rise in college football and the NFL
“There have been 11 Black quarterbacks to start the season, and we’re lucky enough to have two in the Super Bowl,” Doug Williams said — the first black running back to ever start, win and take home the Super Bowl MVP trophy — he said at the start of the game. “That’s a thing in itself. But in my estimation, I think in the next five to 10 years, half the running backs in the National Football League will be black.”
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After Sunday, Williams could be on to something. The plight of black quarterbacks has been noted for decades, as only eight black men have ever had the honor of starting in sports’ biggest game, and they are now 4-7.
And then Chris Berman showed up
But still, some people will find a way to screw up a positive and “progressive” moment like this — during Black History Month — as ESPN’s Chris Berman did when he pointed out how the historic performances of Hurts and Mahomes played out (check notes ), Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
“But also, of course, two African-American quarterbacks starting against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time, fittingly … February 12th is Abe Lincoln’s birthday.”
I didn’t know this was the moment Black America was supposed to turn into a gospel choir singing the praises of Lincoln for ending the longest and most cruel system mankind has ever seen, all because he was born 214 years before the two black guys were born ide throw the football in front around 100 million people on TV.
But let’s get back to the game.
Hurts and Mahomes put on a clinic
It’s as if the football gods got together and decided that every man would share the spotlight equally. in the first half, Hurts was 17-for-22 for 183 passing and one touchdown through the air for a 116.3 passer rating, along with two scores on the ground and 63 rushing yards. In the final 30 minutes, Mahomes battled through a high ankle sprain to make a 26-yard run and was 13-for-14 for 93 yards passing and two touchdowns in the second half, when he became the best the first MVP of this century to win a Super Bowl in the same season. Kansas City — aided by a Hurts fumble that was returned for a touchdown — managed to score 38 points against the league’s best defense in a game in which they were held just eight offensive possessions.
Super Bowl LVII had everything fans could want — except good commercials and terrain that is not slippery. Greg Olsen also showed why FOX will have to make a decision in the coming years when Tom Brady joins the television booth, as the former tight end proved that Brady will have to make a big effort if he wants to take his place.
But with the 2022 season officially over, there’s still one member of the Chiefs who would likely describe Sunday as bittersweet. Since taking over as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy has coached an offense that has either played in the AFC Championship Game, reached the Super Bowl or won two Lombardi Trophies since 2018. Yet on a day when two black running backs celebrated their talent on the field, the best offensive coordinator in the game — who happens to be Black — still can’t get a head coaching job. Chris Berman probably thinks Abraham Lincoln could hire him.