Jalen Hurts shared a nice moment with Patrick Mahomes in the tunnel after skipping on-field handshake

PHOENIX — In the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl 57, both quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts were open about the mutual respect they had for each other’s games. That’s what made the scene at the end of the Chiefs’ 38-35 victory so surprising.

An on-field meeting — the traditional quarterback handshake at midfield — did not happen. When the game ended, Hurts made his way to the sidelines and headed for the tunnel alone as confetti fell from above at State Farm Stadium. He didn’t shake Mahomes’ hand on the field, and he wasn’t observed congratulating any Chiefs players in the game’s immediate aftermath.

But a greeting between the two star quarterbacks did take place. It happened in the stadium’s service tunnels.

About an hour after the game ended, Hurts caught up with Mahomes in the hallway. And according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Mahomes told Hurts he played a “hell of a game.”

Now, Hurts wasn’t the first quarterback to miss the on-field handshake in recent years. Tom Brady had famously skipped out on the exchange after losses while always finding time to be available after Super Bowl wins. Jake Delhomme didn’t shake Brady’s hand either after the Panthers’ loss in Super Bowl 38. It happens. The postgame scrum is a hectic scene to navigate.

Fans appreciated that Hurts still made a point to catch up with Mahomes that night.

It’s great to see that a meeting eventually took place.