GLENDALE, Ariz. — He spoke softly when it ended, the way he always does, but Jalen Hurts had never lost a Super Bowl, had never been this heroic in defeat with the world watching. 

He had apologized to his Eagles teammates in the locker room, but there was no need for it, because Patrick Mahomes was the only quarterback who could have stolen a Lombardi Trophy from him. 

“Feel bad for the guys in the locker room,” Hurts said, “the coaches and the time that they put in. We will learn from it.” 

From time to time, his voice would choke. 

“You either win or you lose,” Hurts said after Chiefs 38, Eagles 35, and then he changed it to, “You either win or you learn.” 

The football world learned plenty about Jalen Hurts on what should have been the greatest night of his football life. 

He was Philly Special all season long, the iron-willed underdog who lifted a city of underdogs back to the Super Bowl. 

This was the stage Jalen Hurts had dreamed of, his chance to bury forever in the deep recesses of his mind the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game when he was benched at halftime and Tua Tagovailoa led Nick Saban’s Alabama to the top of the college football world. 

With Mahomes on the other side, Jalen Hurts (27-for-38, 304 yards, 15-for-70, 3 TDs rushing and a two-point conversion run) needed to play the game of his life. 

So he did. 

And still it wasn’t enough. 

It wasn’t enough because MVP GOAT Mahomes, ignoring his sprained right ankle that had been re-twisted by T.J. Edwards in the first half, refused to let it be enough and roasted a reeling, wilting defense that could not rush the passer or play big in the biggest moments for an epic 38-35 victory. 

Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 TDs in his Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles, but you can make the case Hurts gave the best performance by a losing quarterback in a Super Bowl. 

Hurts’ sprained right shoulder had two weeks of rest, and on this night he was able to attack downfield against an inexperienced secondary and run fearlessly and show the world what a world champion dual-threat quarterback looks like. 

He was 30 minutes from the Lombardi Trophy at the end of a half in which he had 246 of the Eagles’ total net yards. 

He deserved better. 

So much better. 

The Eagles were certain that if Hurts had gotten the ball last with time, they would be champions. 

“I’m proud of Jalen Hurts not just for the way he played tonight,” Jason Kelce said. “He changed the dynamic of this team and offense. It’s pretty hard to defend right now because of him.” 

Hurts had made one costly backbreaking mistake in the first half, a fumble returned for a 36-yard touchdown by Nick Bolton, but for most of the night, he had clearly outplayed Mahomes, had carried his team on his shoulders. 

“I always hold myself to a very high standard in everything I do,” Hurts said. “It hurt us.” 

He kept staring down The Great Mahomes and wouldn’t blink. 

“We all felt confident he was gonna come back and make up for it,” Kelce said. “The fumble was obviously unfortunate, but he gave us an outstanding chance to win that game.” 

Even after Mahomes began making a mockery of Defense Wins Championships, Hurts brought the Eagles back with a bomb to DeVonta Smith and his third rushing TD before he ran in the two-point conversion to tie it at 35-35. 

Mahomes left him six lousy seconds for a miracle that never was. 

He rescued the Eagles after Carson Wentz fizzled, gave his team and his town belief that they could win a second Super Bowl championship in five years. 

He was as good a leader as there was in the league. 

It meant so much to Jalen Hurts to be part of history in the first Super Bowl with two black quarterbacks. He will always have that. 

“He left it all out there,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I told him this was the best game he played.” 

He won’t have a ring. At least not now. At least not yet. 

MVP runner-up to Mahomes. Super Bowl runner-up to Mahomes. 

“You want to cherish these moments with the people you’ve come so far with,” Hurts said. “I’m so proud of this team for everything we’ve been able to overcome. I think the beautiful part about it is everyone experiences different things, everyone gets to express different agonies of life, but you decide if you want to use that to be a teachable moment — I know what I’ll do.” 

Hurts so bad.