Following the Eagles’ thrilling victory over the Chiefs, Jimmy Kempski presents his ten awards.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles. Even though the previous meeting between these two teams didn’t have quite as high stakes, it was still a crucial game. We present ten awards, as usual, whether we win, lose, or tie.
1) The ‘Shutout’ Award 0 : Sean Desai and the Eagles’ second half defense
Remember in the Super Bowl when the Chiefs had four possessions that went like so:
- Touchdown
- Touchdown
- Touchdown
- Clock-draining walkoff field goal
On Monday night, the Chiefs’ second half possessions went like this:
- Punt
- Punt
- Fumble
- Punt
- Punt
- Turnover on downs
I wonder if this year’s defense differed in any way from last year’s defense. Hint: One defensive coordinator changed his game plan at halftime, while the other continued to employ the same “death by a thousand paper cuts” tactic.
2) Bradley Roby and Kevin Byard received the “Timely Plays” Award.
Four games into the season in October, the Eagles signed Roby off the street. Byard became theirs at the trade deadline. With the Chiefs about to score, both players made huge plays. In the end zone, Byard first tricked Patrick Mahomes into making a poor choice:
And Roby fumbled the ball out of Travis Kelce’s hands with a peanut punch.
Roby managed to get the ball out even though Kelce was holding it in both arms. Fantastic play.
“I’m wearing 33 now, you know, Peanut Tillman, I had to watch some YouTube videos of Peanut Tillman,” Roby replied.
The rookie class of the Eagles defeated two future Hall of Famers.
3) Andy Reid, ‘Thank You, Part I’ Award
Andy Reid made the crazy choice to punt on fourth and 3 from the Eagles’ 39-yard line with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter and the team holding a 3-point lead. The punt returned for a net of 19 yards, resulting in a touchback.
The Eagles proceeded to drive and marched 80 yards in 7 plays to score the game-winning touchdown.
It was no doubt a thrill for every coach, player, and water boy on the Eagles sideline to see the punter come out in that circumstance. That was one of the most bizarre coaching calls of the NFL season thus far, in my opinion, and Reid was made to pay for it by the Eagles.
4) The ‘Thank You, Part II’ Award : Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Valdes-Scantling got past the Eagles’ defense with less than two minutes remaining as the team attempted to shut down the Chiefs’ offense. OH NO!
Reagor-esque.
5) The ‘Closer’ Award : Josh Sweat
Josh Sweat made the game’s most important play during the Cowboys’ last drive in Week 9, with the Eagles holding a four-point lead and 99.9 percent of Eagles supporters anticipating a loss.
When Sweat got to Mahomes late on Monday night, he intentionally ground the ball, setting up a nearly impossible fourth-and-25 scenario for the Chiefs. It was another huge play by Sweat. Obviously, deliberate grounding calls do not qualify as sacks, even though they really ought to. Sweat is certain of it.
“That’s just so b***s***,” he exclaimed. It’s beyond me to understand. You anticipate his downfall. Give the man something for f***ing getting the s***. D***d. Please pardon my language, but come on, just give me the m*****f***ing sack. The yardage is the same, the result is the same. I put in too much work for that s*** to just toss in the ball.”
Funny, preach!
6) The ‘He’s Good’ Award : DeVonta Smith
Every game, Eagles wide receivers produce spectacular plays. A.J. Brown has dominated this season, but on Monday night, it was Smith’s turn.
It appears easy to catch, but it’s not.
The key lesson here is that a Chiefs receiver missed a big play when the opportunity presented itself, while an Eagles receiver did.
7) The ‘Bizzaro World’ Award : The Eagles strengths and weaknesses
The Eagles’ pass defense, or more generally, their secondary, has been lacking for the most part of the season, but they performed admirably against the world’s greatest football player.
Conversely, the Eagles’ passing offense, offensive line, and run defense have all excelled this season, but they had trouble on Monday night.
They could start winning some games if they could just figure out how to put it all together. Ah, I see.
8) Brandon Graham receives the “Smart Play” Award
Graham jumped offsides on a third and 7 on the Chiefs’ final drive, but he managed to get back onsides before two offensive linemen for the Chiefs leaped out of their stances to draw a neutral zone infraction.
They were called for a false start instead of a quick reaction after Graham leaped, turning the third and seventh into a third and twelve.
Everything was a part of Graham’s plan. Yes, perhaps not.
“I’m happy that I got back fast enough after I jumped and it didn’t matter,” he stated. “I had an instinct that something terrible was going to happen to me. I simply didn’t want to be the cause of our defeat.”
In addition, Graham angrily declared to the media, “I’m relieved I didn’t have to face you for an offsides penalty.”
9) The ‘Gauntlet… Pfft’ Award : The tough stretch of the Eagles’ schedule
The Eagles are through the first two games of the nasty part of their schedule.
THE GAUNTLET
• Week 9: Cowboys: W
• Week 10: BYE
• Week 11: At Chiefs W
• Week 12: Bills
• Week 13: 49ers
• Week 14: At Cowboys
• Week 15: At Seahawks
Next up: The 6-5 Bills, who do not have a great record, but who have a point differential in the triple digits (+104).
10) The ‘Holding Serve’ Award : The Eagles’ place atop the NFC
The pressure was on the Eagles to hold serve, which they dutifully did, as the Cowboys, 49ers, and Lions are all within striking distance of the top seed and all won this past weekend.
Those teams must have been discouraged to watch the Eagles defeat the defending champions on the road.