Posted: November 20th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Gameday – PHI at KCThe one X-factor we haven’t talked about could be pretty important tonight. The weather. It is windy and rainy in KC. I tend to think of the Eagles as the faster team, so a wet field would lessen some of their advantage. Ugh.
I’ve been thinking about this game all day and still don’t have a good feel for it. You have two good coaches, two good QBs and two good teams. This really boils down to who plays better and who avoids mistakes.
This is the kind of game you get excited about. You want to see the Eagles play great teams and great players. I don’t remember much about beating Ben DiNucci, but I sure do remember the first win over Peyton Manning. I remember the upset of the Packers in 1997. I remember the epic game against the Rams in 2017. Big games are what its all about. I’m excited to see if the Eagles can finally beat Andy Reid or Patrick Mahomes.
I may not love the result, but you have an opportunity for a fun game and memorable night.
No surprises on here.
Cam Jurgens is back so Tyler Steen returns to the bench. That puts Opeta on the inactive list.
Aside from DG, the Eagles are pretty healthy. They’ll win or lose based on how they play, not who was injured.
KC always has a good atmosphere for games so tonight should be a playoff preview. Let’s hope the good guys win this time.
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Posted: November 19th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »There are a ton of storylines to Monday night’s matchup between the Eagles and the Chiefs. There’s the Andy Reid angle. There’s the Kelce brothers angle. There’s the Taylor Swift angle. There’s the Hurts-Mahomes angle. This is also a Super Bowl rematch.
For Nick Sirianni, this is just the Eagles vs the Chiefs. That’s the mentality he wants his team to have. Some have asked if this is revenge for the Eagles. As Sirianni pointed out, an Eagles win wouldn’t mean the Chiefs turn over their Super Bowl rings. The goal here has nothing to do with the past. It is all about getting to 9-1.
Win the day.
I am conflicted about what’s going to happen. You can make a compelling argument for both teams to win. We’ll start with the Eagles. The pass rush, which wasn’t much of a factor in the SB, should have an impact on Monday night. KC has an outstanding trio of interior blockers, but their OTs are vulnerable. I would expect Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat will get pressure. Getting Patrick Mahomes on the ground is not easy. Getting into the backfield is the start of the challenge. The really hard part is finishing the play. Mahomes has great escapability.
KC didn’t have great passing success in the SB. They ran for 158 yards and that was a key part of their offense. The Eagles have the best run defense in football this season. They aren’t vulnerable the way they were last year. Limit the run game and make KC throw from known passing situations.
Mahomes is still an elite QB, but the Chiefs offense has taken a step back this year. They are 13th in points scored. KC just doesn’t have the weapons they’ve had in the past. Rashee Rice is their leading WR at 32-378-4. Those numbers don’t jump out at you. Rice has played better recently so maybe the light is going on for him.
Turnovers have been an issue for KC. They have at least one turnover in 8 of 9 games this year. They have multiple turnovers in five of those games.
The Chiefs have an outstanding defense, but you can run on them. They have given up 108 or more rushing yards in 7 of 9 games.
The Eagles OL will get a boost from the return of Jurgens. The replacement guards struggled in the run game so getting Jurgens back is important. Jalen Hurts and the passing game have been performing at a high level in recent weeks. If the run game can pick things up, that would be huge. D’Andre Swift has run for 180 yards over the past four games. You might remember he went for 175 yards in Week 2 against the Vikings. Jurgens won’t magically turn Swift into Barry Sanders, but he will make a difference.
Hurts and the offense are hot. The Eagles are third in the league in scoring. They average 32 points a game for the past three weeks. The Eagles put 28 points up on Dallas and their Top 4 defense so it isn’t like the team is just beating up on weak defenses.
There is a lot of reason to believe the Eagles are going to win this game.
Now let’s talk about what favors the Chiefs. Mahomes is still Mahomes. His numbers are down, but he remains the best QB in the league. And he’ll be facing a porous pass defense. The Eagles are 28th in the league in opposing passer rating (99.4). That’s not good. The Eagles are 28th in passing yards allowed and they are dead last in passing TDs allowed. Mahomes is going to make plays.
While KC doesn’t have great weapons, they still have Travis Kelce, the best TE in football. He is Mahomes favorite target and their best playmaker. The Eagles do have Kevin Byard, who has had some success in covering Kelce. It will be interesting to see what Sean Desai does. The Eagles will also have Bradley Roby back on the field. That gives Desai a solid group of veteran DBs to work with. They should at least be able to slow down the Chiefs.
Both teams are coming off a bye. Nick Sirianni is 3-0 in games after the bye in the regular season, 4-0 if you include the playoffs. That’s nice.
Yikes.
Big Red has always been masterful at fixing issues with his extra time. Desai will study the Chiefs offense and have an idea of how to attack them. But we don’t know what he’ll see on Monday night. Reid will have some new wrinkles. He’ll break tendencies. The Chiefs are never easy, but coming off a bye makes them even tougher.
Hurts and the Eagles offense will have their hands full with the KC defense. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has allowed the fewest points in the league. No one has scored more than 24 points against them. They are also 4th in yards allowed. Nothing comes easy against the Chiefs.
Chris Jones is still their best player. Jurgens returns just in time to face arguably the best DT in the league. Welcome back, right? George Karlaftis and Mike Danna are the disruptive edge rushers. That trio has combined for 17 sacks.
The secondary has been terrific this year. KC played young DBs a lot last year and that experience has paid off this season. CB Trent McDuffie seems to make a play in every game I watch.
LB Nick Bolton came up huge in the Super Bowl, but he’s on IR. The Chiefs still have a trio of LBs who can make plays so don’t feel too sorry for them.
The Eagles feel like the better team, but playing Mahomes in KC when the Chiefs are coming off a bye is one heckuva tough task. Be careful about betting your lunch money on the Eagles in this one.
*****
The first miracle.
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