Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs Notebook: Persistence, Exorcisms Highlight Win Over KC
KANSAS CITY - The rain was persistent in the Show Me State on Monday night but not quite as persistent as the Philadelphia Eagles, who came back from a 10-point deficit to top Kansas City 21-17 in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.
The Eagles were consistent during the week, understanding no rings were going exchanged and Monday night's win is just another step in the right direction to lock down the No. 1 seen in the conference.
The turning point in the game came with 9:04 remaining when Andy Reid decided to play it cautious with a 17-14 lead and lay up from the Eagles' 39-yard on a fourth-and-4 play.
All-Pro punter Tommy Townsend have his coverage team a chance but Justin Watson was unable to get to the punt which rolled into the end zone, giving the Chiefs a net 19 yards on the punt.
Philadelphia needed just seven plays and 2:36 to go 80 yards on seven plays, the penultimate decision a check by Jalen Hurts at the line of scrimmage to a go route for DeVonta Smith.
Smith made a beautiful catch and tumbled to the one-yard line, making the Eagles one Brotherly Shove away from their first and only lead they would need on the night.
The last-ditch gasp by Kansas City came on a deep ball to Marquez Valdez-Scantling that went threw the receiver's hands with 1:42 remaining.
EXORCISING A GHOST
Reid came in undefeated against his old team and with the reputation as the best bye-week coach in the NFL and Sirianni was able to change that narrative at least a little bit, although it certainly wasn't a pretty win in a very difficult environment.
MOTION MAN
The Eagles generally don't use a ton of motion but used much more eye candy than usual against the Chiefs, everything from traditional motion to orbit motion and jet motion, the latter of which got D'Andre Swift loose for a 35-yard run that set up a Hurts 10-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw that put Philadelphia back in the game in the third quarter.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs the ball as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay (50) defends during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
© Denny Medley, USA TODAY
THIRD DOWN BLUES
The Eagles came into the game with the best third-down offense in the NFL, converting at a 50.0 clip. They started 0 for 5 and did not convert a third down until a Hurts tush push with 5:42 left in the third quarter. They finished 3 for 11 but 27.3 percent is not going to be viewed well at the NovaCare Complex.
The issues really limited the Eagles' offensive plays as a whole and the team finished with only 22 pass plays.
SUPER BOWL SEQUEL SHOWDOWNS
This was only the ninth time the previous year's Super Bowl participants matched up in the regular season in the ensuing campaign and the first since New England topped Atlanta, 23-7, in a rematch of Super Bowl LI back on Oct. 22, 2017.
The Eagles mean that the losers of the big game now have their heads above water at 5-4.
WINNING IS THE QB STAT WITH MAHOMES AND HURTS
Winning is never a quarterback stat except for the winners and Monday night featured two of the top five since 1970 in Mahomes and Hurts.
Of quarterbacks with over 25 starts, Mahomes remains No. 1 at 71-19, a .788 winning percentage followed by Tom Brady (251-81, .754), Roger Staubach (84-29, .743), and Lamar Jackson (53-18, .736). Hurts is No. 5 at 32-12, a .727 winning percentage).
RARE SIGHTSEEING
This was only the fourth game of the century in Week 11 or later to feature teams with the best records in each conference matching up. With the loss the Chiefs fall back to No. 2 behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
GEHA Field at Arrowhead is not one of the venues Eagles fans cam take over but it didn't matter. Philadelphia is now 12-2 in away games dating back to 2022, which represents the best road winning percentage (.857) in the league during that span.
Of course, in every category the Eagles have dominated over the past two seasons. They are an NFL-leading 8-1 record in primetime games since the start of last season and have won 10 of their last 11 regular-season games vs. AFC teams.
