Gritty, Not Pretty

I have watched a lot of football over the years. I used to be fiery, living and dying on every snap. Age has mellowed me a bit, but there are certain things that set me off. Facing Patrick Mahomes is one of those things. When you play him, you’re convinced he’s a creation of the devil sent to Earth purely to torture you and your team.

For half of this game, Mahomes was torturing me and the Eagles. He would make a key throw. He’d run for a few yards. He eluded pressure time and again. The Eagles found themselves down 17-7 at halftime.

The second half was a different story. The Eagles kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard. That was a mixture of good defense and good luck. The Eagles made key plays. They also got lucky with some KC drops, including one from MVS that might have won the game. The Chiefs run game was great in the first half, but only produced 47 yards after halftime. Mahomes still had some good moments, but even he couldn’t overcome his teammates mistakes.

Give the Eagles defense a lot of credit. They did what they could to limit the Chiefs. They slowed down Kelce (7-44 for the game). The defense tackled well. They got pressure on Mahomes in key situations. KC only had one play go more than 20 yards (24-yard run by Pacheco). Their longest pass play was 17-yards. The Chiefs had to play small-ball and it didn’t work too well.

The Eagles offense only had 78 yards and 7 points at halftime. Jalen Hurts was sacked 5 times and threw an INT. It was not pretty.

Luckily the Eagles got some things sorted out in terms of protection and play-calling. The offense had 160 yards and 14 points in the second half. Hurts wasn’t great, but made enough key plays to lead his team to victory. DeVonta Smith had a big night, going 6-99. His 41-yard catch set up the go-ahead TD run by Hurts. D’Andre Swift had his best game in a while. He was 12-76-1 on the ground and 3-31 as a receiver. Beyond overall numbers, Swift delivered big plays. He had a 35-yard run and a 20-yard reception. Those chunk plays were huge.

This game was a heavyweight slugfest. Neither team was pretty. As Nick Sirianni said afterward, this was a “gritty, grimy” game. Both teams had guys make plays. DT Chris Jones was disruptive all night. CB Trent McDuffie was terrific. RB Isiah Pacheco went 19-89 for the Chiefs. He ran hard. Getting him down was a challenge on every play.

Safety Kevin Byard had his first INT as an Eagle, picking off Mahomes in the end zone. Nickelback Bradley Roby had a forced fumble in the red zone. He used the “peanut punch” to knock the ball away from Travis Kelce. Britain Covey averaged 18 yards on three punt returns. That helped with field position. Braden Mann had a 47-yard punt that pinned the Chiefs inside their 10 on the final drive.

This game was incredibly frustrating in the first half. It got a lot better in the second half, but it was still emotionally draining. This is the kind of test that can help the Eagles be ready for the postseason.

Andy Reid is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, but Sirianni might have gotten the better of him tonight. Reid punted on 4th & 4 from the Eagles 39-yard line. That led to a touchback and a gain of only 19 yards. Reid’s defense was playing great. He had Mahomes and Kelce. That wasn’t the time to be conservative. Sirianni made the better in-game adjustments and pushed the right buttons to get his team the W.

*****

The Eagles are 9-1 and have the best record in the league. That was in danger for a while. You know Lions, Niners and Cowboys fans had to be miserable when the Eagles held on to win.

*****

Sean Desai beat another good QB. His defense shut out both the Dolphins and Chiefs offenses in the second half. I’m guessing Jonathan Gannon couldn’t have pulled that off.

*****

This is mind-blowing.

Jalen Hurts has won 7 straight games when trailing by 10+ points.

The most by any QB in #NFL since stat was first tracked in 1991.

No other QB has more than 4 straight. #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) November 21, 2023

That tells you how tough Hurts is mentally and emotionally. He doesn’t panic. He doesn’t give up. He just locks in and comes after you.

Think about other QBs who struggle when things go wrong. Hurts can win ugly. He doesn’t need his A-game. That says a lot about him.

Jalen Hurts is the fourth #NFL QB since the 1970 merger to start 9-1 or better through 10 games in consecutive years, joining Peyton Manning (2005-06), John Elway (1996-97), and Jim Kelly (1990-91).

— John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) November 21, 2023

Not bad for a second round pick.

*****

Need something funny?

Even the fans were dropping Mahomes’ passes! pic.twitter.com/zQm4gs67xV

— Nick Eatman (@nickeatman) November 21, 2023

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