On Sunday night, the 5-1 Philadelphia Eagles host the 5-1 Miami Dolphins in what could easily be considered a potential Super Bowl preview. The Eagles and Dolphins have the 3rd and 5th best odds respectively to win the Super Bowl, and according to FanDuel, their quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, have the 4th and 1st best odds respectively to win the NFL MVP Award. An additional wrinkle that makes this Sunday's matchup enticing is the relationship between Hurts and Tagovailoa, former teammates at Alabama and pseudo rivals given the fact that it was Tagovailoa who came in and replaced Hurts as the starting quarterback of the Crimson Tide, which resulted in Hurts transferring to the University of Oklahoma.

Even as Alabama football coach Nick Saban prepares to lead his 11th ranked Tide into an SEC showdown on Saturday versus the 17th ranked Tennessee Volunteers, he had time to share some thoughts on his two former quarterbacks:

“I never had two players that were really, really good players at the same position who actually supported each other the way those two guys supported each other when they were here. I think that comes from mutual respect and both guys being great team guys and putting the team before their own personal feelings,” Saban shared. He continued, saying, ““I know they’re both great competitors, so they’re going to go do what they have to do for their team. But I do think there’ll be a mutual respect by both guys.” (h/t Dan Gelston of the Associated Press).

This sentiment was echoed by both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, who seem to be keeping a close eye on each other from a distance.

“I got a lot of respect for Jalen. He’s been a great competitor since I got there to Alabama,” Tagovailoa said.

“It’s been great to see the things he’s been able to do over his career,” Hurts said of Tagovailoa.

Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts will be forever linked because of the way things played out at Alabama — Tua coming in to replace Hurts in the National Championship game, Hurts filling in for an injured Tagovailoa one year later in the SEC Championship Game, Hurts transferring to Oklahoma after the season and becoming a Heisman Trophy candidate, both quarterbacks being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Sunday's game is the next chapter in their rivalry.