Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Questions and NFL Week 11 Prediction
For the first time since Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are set to square off.
Week 11's Monday Night Football matchup is slated to be one of the best games of the 2023 season so far, and it features two teams that are once again reigning supreme atop their respective divisions. If Kansas City can pull off the win at home, it will remain locked into the one-seed in the AFC at 8-2. A victory for the visitors would propel Nick Sirianni's squad to 9-1 and keep it as the only one-loss team in the entire NFL.
What's important to know about Monday's important Chiefs vs. Eagles matchup? How could the action unfold? Ed Kracz of Eagles Today was kind enough to answer five questions for me to cover all of that and more.
What’s the biggest difference between last year’s Eagles team and this one?
EK: Start with the new coordinators after losing OC Shane Steichen and DC Jonathan Gannon to be head coaches for the Colts and Cardinals, respectively. This year’s OC, Brian Johnson, is in his first year ever doing it after two years as the Eagles’ QB coach, and, for DC Sean Desai, this is his second year ever coordinating a defense, with his first year coming with the Chicago Bears two years ago. There have been some growing pains with both coordinators.
The Eagles are also playing their rookies more this season than last, but last year’s top two picks in 2022 are big contributors this season – defensive tackle Jordan Davis and offensive lineman Cam Jurgens, who should be activated this week from a stint on IR that cost him five games. The 2023 crop is led by defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, which would make him the first player to do so in team history if he does. Third-round pick, safety Sydney Brown has been contributing and, in the team’s win over the Dallas Cowboys prior to the bye, third-round pick Tyler Steen made his first career start, doing so at right guard. The Eagles have also relied heavily on undrafted free agent cornerback Eli Ricks.
Expanding on Philadelphia’s differences, why is the 2023 defense struggling to find its prior form?
EK: A big reason the Eagles are struggling has to do with their pass defense. It finished as the best in the NFL last season but is 28th this season. Injuries at safety and in the slot have led to many different starting combinations in the secondary. After season-ending injuries to starter Avonte Maddox in Week 2 and his backup Zech McPhearson in the preseason, the Eagles have used five different starters at slot cornerback. They hope to get Bradley Roby back from a three-game absence with a shoulder injury. Roby was signed off the street last month. Other reasons are that the Eagles had to replace five starts on defense from last year’s Super Bowl team and they are doing it with a new DC in Desai.
Is Jalen Hurts’ health a bigger or smaller deal than most outsiders think?
EK: He has yet to be listed on any injury report during the week, so he continues to practice and answer the bell each week at game time. That said, you can see that the bone bruise in his left knee has been problematic at times in-game and probably a reason he hasn’t run the ball as much – or as well – as he did a season ago. Hurts, though, has learned to evolve as more of a pocket passer and has completed at least 73% of his throws in the last three games and his 68.9 completion percentage is a career-high at the moment.
One Eagles player on each side of the ball that the Chiefs must focus on stopping
EK: On offense, it’s obviously Jalen Hurts, but stopping receiver A.J. Brown would be a big way to quiet Hurts. The QB has relied heavily on Brown this season as evidenced by his 1,005 yards receiving, which is good for second-most in the league behind Miami’s Tyreek Hill. Brown is the fastest player in team history to top 1,000 yards receiving and is on pace to break the franchise record he set last year for most yards in a single season with 1,496. He is built like an edge rusher and difficult to cover. He had six grabs for 96 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown reception in last year’s Super Bowl.
On defense, the Chiefs have to find a way to contain the Eagles edge rushers – Haason Reddick (7.5 sacks) and Josh Sweat (6.5). They are one of just two pass-rushing duos to record at least 6.5 sacks each, joining the Los Angeles Chargers’ duo of Khalil Mack (9 sacks) and Joey Bosa (6.5). Much was made about an Eagles pass-rush unit that collected 70 sacks last year not getting home in the Super Bowl due to a more slippery than normal field. We’ll see if that was the case of an Eagles team that has 30 sacks this year – 12 of which have come in the final five minutes of a game – can get home on Monday.
How do you see this game unfolding and who ends up winning?
EK: Andy Reid is so good at coming out of a bye week dating back to his days as the Eagles’ head coach that it's hard to pick against him and the Chiefs. Defending Travis Kelce will be a big task for a team that has difficulty covering the middle of the field in general this season and tight ends specifically. For those two reasons, I like the Chiefs to win 27-23.
For additional coverage of the Eagles, be sure to follow Ed's work on X @kracze and check out Eagles Today for more in-depth Eagles content.
