The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 21-17, on the road at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri on Monday night, exacting revenge for their loss in Super Bowl LVII.
Although both teams displayed a free-flowing offensive masterclass in the championship game in February, Monday’s matchup was not the most visually appealing. Both teams punted 13 times in total, with a touchdown pass from each quarterback.
According to the NFL, the Eagles’ offense managed just 78 net yards in the first half, with 70 of those coming on a single touchdown drive. Despite having only 150 yards, one interception, and no passing touchdowns by the end of the game, star quarterback Jalen Hurts helped the Eagles escape with an ugly victory.
“Whoever was going to win that game was going to do it gritty, grimy, nasty, all those adjectives.” Following the game, Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni declared, “We were able to prevail because the guys stuck together, kept fighting, and persevered through the inevitable outcome.”
The Chiefs will be extremely frustrated after Monday’s game because it appeared from the stat sheet that they did just enough to win. The offense line gave up just one quarterback sack (on the opening play of the game), and they outgained the Eagles by 98 yards. Additionally, they converted on 47% of their third downs compared to 27% for Philly. On the other hand, Hurts was knocked down five times.
Towards the end of the first quarter, the Chiefs scored first. Before Eagles running back D’Andre Swift tied the score on the following drive, reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes found Justin Watson in the end zone.
After a Harrison Butker field goal to end the quarter, Kansas City led by ten points at the half and seemed to be headed for another victory over Philadelphia.
But after the intermission, the Eagles’ defense took charge and shut out the Chiefs for the duration of the second half, turning the tables.
Hurts was able to contribute to scoring plays on the ground even though he didn’t have the best day passing the ball. The Eagles regained possession of the game in the third quarter thanks to a rushing touchdown up the middle. In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia’s signature “tush push” saw him pushed across the goal line.
With just over six minutes remaining, Hurts’ second rushing touchdown put the Eagles up four. The Chiefs were still in the game, but they were left to regret their errors as time ran out.
Before the game practically slipped through their fingers on their final possession, the Chiefs had already given up the ball on their first drive of the fourth quarter due to a Kelce fumble in the red zone.
With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Mahomes could only watch in despair as wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped his perfect 50+ yard pass as he was crossing the goal line.
Andy Reid, the head coach of the Chiefs, experienced defeat against his old team for the first time as the Eagles secured the victory with a defensive stop on fourth down.
As of right now, Philadelphia leads the league with a record of 9-1, while Kansas City is at 7-3 and has already dropped as many games in Week 11 as it did during the previous regular season.