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Super Bowl superlatives: The top statistics in the game by players with Alabama football roots

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In his first Super Bowl appearance, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts put up a set of numbers unseen previously in the NFL championship game.

The former Alabama standout completed 27-of-38 passes for 304 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Hurts became the first player in league history with at least 300 passing yards, 70 rushing yards and three touchdown runs in the same game, but that didn’t prevent the Kansas City Chiefs from coming away with a 38-35 victory over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, 2023.

Hurts and Philadelphia are back for Super Bowl LIX, and so is Kansas City. The Eagles and Chiefs will square off for the championship of the 2024 NFL season at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. FOX will televise the game.

A rundown of the top statistical performances in the 58 Super Bowls by players from Alabama high schools and colleges includes:

PASSING

Hurts’ 304 yards are the most by a player with Alabama football roots in the Super Bowl as he became the 16th quarterback to reach 300 passing yards in the big game last year.

Hurts had the fifth Super Bowl passing performance of at least 200 yards by a player from an Alabama high school or college, with Bart Starr (Sidney Lanier, Alabama) doing so twice in winning the MVP Award for the first two Super Bowls.

Starr completed 16-of-23 passes for 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Green Bay Packers’ 35-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I on Jan. 15, 1967, and 13-of-24 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in a 33-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II on Jan. 14, 1968. Starr is the only player with Alabama football roots with two TD passes in a Super Bowl game.

Joe Namath (Alabama) also won the game’s MVP Award when he completed 17-of-28 passes for 206 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions in the New York Jets’ 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III on Jan. 12, 1969. Namath did not throw a pass in the fourth quarter of the landmark game.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (Auburn) completed 18-of-41 passes for 265 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016.

Hurts had two 45-yard completions in Super Bowl LVII, with one going for a touchdown. Only one passer with Alabama football roots has a longer TD throw in the Super Bowl: Starr connected with split end Boyd Dowler for a 62-yard touchdown to open the scoring in Super Bowl II.

There’s been one other completion longer than Hurts’ 45-yarders by a QB with Alabama football roots: Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler (Alabama) hit wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff for a 48-yard gain in the Raiders’ 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI on Jan. 9, 1977.

RUSHING

Hurts’ Super Bowl LVII performance tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a Super Bowl, which had been established by running back Terrell Davis with three in the Denver Broncos’ 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII on Jan. 25, 1998.

With 70, Hurts broke the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Steve McNair had set the mark with 64 yards on eight carries in the Tennessee Titans’ 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV on Jan. 30, 2000.

Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander (Alabama) set the high mark for rushing yards in a Super Bowl by a ball-carrier with Alabama football roots when he ran for 95 yards on 20 carries in a 21-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5, 2006.

Only one other state player has had at least 70 rushing yards in a Super Bowl, and Antowain Smith (Stanhope Elmore) did it twice. Smith ran for 92 yards on 18 carries in the New England Patriots’ 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, and 83 yards and one touchdown on 26 rushing attempts in the Patriots’ 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1, 2004.

RECEIVING

Players from Alabama high schools and colleges have recorded five 100-yard receiving games in the Super Bowl, with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth (Tuscaloosa, Alabama A&M) doing so twice.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (Alabama) joined the list with seven receptions for 100 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, and he’s back with the Eagles for Sunday’s game.

Terrell Owens (Benjamin Russell) set the state’s high mark for receiving yards when he caught nine passes for 122 yards in the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX on Feb. 6, 2005. Owens was playing for the first time since breaking his leg on Dec. 19.

Stallworth caught three passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the Steelers’ 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII on Jan. 21, 1979, and three passes for 121 yards and one touchdown in a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV on Jan. 20, 1980. Stallworth is the only player with Alabama roots with two TD receptions in a Super Bowl.

Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) caught nine passes for 105 yards in a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, 2020.

The Alabama-roots records for the most receptions in a Super Bowl doesn’t belong to any of the 100-yard receivers. Miami Dolphins running back Tony Nathan (Woodlawn, Alabama) caught 10 passes for 83 yards in a 38-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX on Jan. 20, 1985.

A player with Alabama football roots also caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVII with wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) recording a 5-yard TD in the fourth quarter for Kansas City. He joined Stallworth as the only players from Alabama high schools and colleges to catch a Super Bowl touchdown pass.

Before the championship game for the 2022 season, players with Alabama football roots had scored a total of four touchdowns – three by Stallworth and one by Antowain Smith. The Chiefs’ victory over Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII featured four more – three by Hurts and one by Toney.

Smith’s 100 yards included a 45-yard reception. That was the third-longest reception by a player with Alabama football roots in the Super Bowl. Stallworth had touchdown catches of 75 yards in Super Bowl XIII and 73 yards in Super Bowl XIV.

KICKOFF RETURNS

Only one player with Alabama football roots has reached 100 kickoff-return yards in a Super Bowl. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Marcus Knight (Comer) returned eight kickoffs for 143 yards in a 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII on Jan. 26, 2003. Knight recorded the 10th-most kickoff-return yards in a Super Bowl in his final NFL game.

PUNT RETURNS

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) broke the Super Bowl record for the longest punt return with a 65-yarder against Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII. He also had a 12-yarder in that game. His 77 punt-return yards rank as the second-most in a Super Bowl. Green Bay wide receiver Desmond Howard had 90 yards on six punt returns for the most in the Packers’ 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots on Jan. 25, 1998.

SACKS

There have been 37 two-sack games by players in the Super Bowl, and pass-rushers with Alabama football roots have recorded six of them.

New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers (Columbia) set the high mark with 2.5 sacks in a 34-28 overtime victory against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5, 2017, for the state’s high mark.

New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (Central-Coosa) had two sacks in two Super Bowls – a 17-14 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, 2008, and a 21-17 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, 2012.

In Tuck’s first two-sack Super Bowl, New England linebacker Adalius Thomas, who also prepped at Central-Coosa, had two sacks, too.

The state’s other two-sack Super Bowls were recorded by Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (Auburn High, Troy) in a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016, and Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower (Alabama) in a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, 2019.

INTERCEPTIONS

Three players with Alabama football roots have intercepted passes in the Super Bowl, and one is among the greatest plays in the game’s history.

Rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler (West Alabama) saved the New England Patriots’ 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, 2015, with his interception. With Seattle at the New England 1-yard line, Butler intercepted a pass at the goal line with 20 seconds left in the game.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Eric Davis (Anniston, Jacksonville State) had an interception in a 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX on Jan. 29, 1995. Davis picked off Stan Humphries in the end zone on a third-and-1 throw from the San Diego 46-yard line. Davis’ interception came with 10 seconds left in the first half with San Francisco holding a 28-10 lead.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby (Woodlawn, Auburn) had an interception in a 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, 2009. Dansby picked off Ben Roethlisberger’s second-and-4 throw from the Pittsburgh 22-yard line to set up Arizona on the Steelers 34 with two minutes left in the first half. But on the final play of the second quarter, Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison intercepted Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and ran off a 100-yard touchdown return.

Nine players with from Alabama high schools and colleges are eligible to play in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, all on the Eagles:

  • Reed Blankenship, safety, West Limestone
  • Khari Blasingame, fullback, Buckhorn
  • Landon Dickerson, guard, Alabama
  • Bryce Huff, defensive end, St. Paul’s Episcopal
  • Jalen Hurts, quarterback, Alabama
  • Nicholas Morrow, linebacker, Huntsville
  • Eli Ricks, cornerback, Alabama
  • DeVonta Smith, wide receiver, Alabama
  • Tyler Steen, offensive lineman, Alabama

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.