Jalen Hurts believes he and Patrick Mahomes will be "uplifting the next generation" in Sunday's Super Bowl, the first time both starting quarterbacks will have been African Americans.
Philadelphia Eagles signal caller Hurts will be making his Super Bowl debut, while Mahomes has featured twice before, experiencing both winning and losing.
Ahead of the State Farm Stadium showpiece, both men were in demand at Monday's Opening Night, with Hurts confident he can cope with the pressure of the big occasion.
"It's been what it's been my whole career," the 24-year-old said. "I ain't worked this hard to stay the same. I've put the work in to have opportunities like this, so it'll be a fun one.
"As a team we've come a long way. I don't want to make this about me. I want to make this about the work we've put in. We want to go out there and prepare to play our best game, when we need it most."
His role and the battle with Mahomes will be under the spotlight, however much Hurts does not want to make the narrative about his own performance.
Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl in 1988, when he led the then Washington Redskins to victory over John Elway and the Denver Broncos.
Now Hurts and Mahomes take centre stage, and Hurts said: "It's historic. Think about all the rich history in this game. To be a part of such a historic moment is special.
"There's so many quarterbacks before me, including Pat, that laid the foundation for me to have this opportunity. Seven African American quarterbacks to play in this game and now the first time for two to go head-to-head, and that's uplifting the next generation of quarterbacks.
"That four-year-old, five-year-old kid back in Houston, back in Philly, back in Texas, Louisiana, wherever across the world, regardless of what someone may say or have an opinion about you, you can do it.
"I value the platform I have, I'm sure Pat does, as well. We just want to inspire the next people."
Hurts said Philadelphia, who won their lone Super Bowl in the 2017 season, would be ready to add a second.
"We're coming to finish the job we set out to do," he said.
"We definitely respect our opponent. They're a really good team. They play good on both sides of the ball and special teams, and we want to go out and what we've done the entire time: to try to play clean football and play together, most importantly."
David Montgomery hat-trick lifts Detroit Lions over Green Bay Packers
Three touchdowns from running back David Montgomery lifted the Detroit Lions to a 34-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Montgomery found the endzone twice in the first half and again in the fourth quarter to clinch the visitors’ third win of the season.
The Packers were able to impact the scoreboard early, gaining a 3-0 lead with a field goal from their opening drive.
However, they had to wait a long time between drinks from there, as the Lions hit back with three touchdowns and two field goals to take a 27-3 lead into half-time.
Green Bay were able to stem the tide in the third quarter, holding Detroit to nil while picking up a touchdown through wide receiver Christian Watson.
They inched closer at the start of the fourth thanks to a nine-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jordan Love, but their comeback bid was officially ended when Montgomery picked up his third touchdown with six minutes remaining.
Love finished with 246 passing yards to go along with a touchdown and two interceptions, while Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception of his own.
Philadelphia Eagles turn up the Hurts on Tampa Bay to remain unbeaten
The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect start to the season, proving too strong for previously unbeaten Tampa Bay.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts led his team to a 25-11 win as he masterminded a game-deciding drive that lasted nine minutes.
Hurts threw for 277 yards and scored a touchdown while running back D’Andre Swift racked up 130 yards on 16 carries.
The Eagles are 3-0 for the second successive season and join Miami and San Francisco as the only unbeaten sides.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow shook off a calf injury to throwing for 259 yards to beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 for the Bengals’ first win of the season.
Burrow, who picked up the injury in pre-season and aggravated it against Baltimore last week, only returned to training on Thursday.
Running back Joe Mixon’s 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the AFC North champions their first lead of the season.
Logan Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and he was sacked six times.
Chargers wide receiver Williams out for season with torn ACL
The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star wide receiver Mike Williams for the remainder of the 2023 season after an MRI confirmed he tore his ACL in Week 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Williams went down in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 28-24 road win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after recording seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Williams entered Monday’s action ranked 12th in the league in receiving yards (249), tied for 12th in targets (26) and tied for 13th in catches (19).
Since being selected seventh overall by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Williams has 309 receptions for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Los Angeles lost its first two games by a combined five points before defeating Minnesota.
The Chargers went 10-7 last season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They led by 10 points after three quarters in the wild-card round at Jacksonville before the Jaguars rallied for a 31-30 victory.
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