The Deuce

The Eagles are getting ready for Week 2, when they will go to Kansas City and take on the Chiefs. This is a Super Bowl rematch in name only. Both teams look very different than they did seven months ago.

Each team played a division rival in the season opener. The Eagles played in a tough game and beat Dallas 24-20. KC got worked by the Chargers 27-21, in a game LA led from start to finish. There are a lot of questions about KC, both on offense and defense, coming out of that game. Chiefs RBs only had 10 total carries. The passing game was mainly a short attack. Patrick Mahomes had to make a couple of incredible throws to keep his team in it.

Against the #Chargers, Patrick Mahomes completed 3 big passes scrambling outside of the pocket, and the two shown came on a third down and fourth down. #Eagles obviously have to be on alert of Mahomes’ running ability and finding receivers downfield on the move. pic.twitter.com/UEGVfZnSal

— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) September 9, 2025

Mahomes did have those special moments, reminding everyone just how dangerous he can be. He might have looked mortal in the SB, but Mahomes is still an elite QB who can make game-changing plays. The Chiefs had 10 penalties and their OL had some issues. The RT was especially vulnerable.

Steve Spagnuolo has done great things with the KC defense over the years. They did not look good in LA. They gave up 394 yards, looking especially vulnerable against the pass. Justin Herbert finished with 318 yards and a passer rating of 131.7. Wow.

Spags said communication wasn’t the issue, instead giving credit to the Chargers for using rub routes effectively. He also said their run-pass balance caught KC off guard. Jim Harbaugh loves to run the ball, but his RBs only had 17 carries in the game. The Chargers focused on the pass and looked great on offense. Well done by their coaching staff.

One key player is missing from last year, safety Justin Reid. Last year he had 2 INTs, 9 PDs and was third on the team with 87 tackles. Reid was incredibly smart and talented and did a lot of things on the back end of the defense. Without a playmaker like him in the secondary, the defense struggled in coverage last week. Maybe the young safeties will step over time. They didn’t against the Chargers.

The Eagles will have a couple of key pieces back for this game. Jalen Carter did not get suspended by the NFL so he will play on Sunday. The defense played half of a good game without him. It will be fun to see the difference he makes. Landon Dickerson missed the end of the Dallas game. His back was bothering him last week and he toughed his way through it as long as he could. Dickerson has been back at practice this week and should start.

TE Dallas Goedert is dealing with a knee injury and hasn’t practiced. We’ll find out his status on Friday. If he’s out, that will certainly hurt. He’s far and away the best TE. While he’s a good receiver, his absence can really hurt the run game. Grant Calcaterra is not a good run blocker. Will Shipley is likely to be out so Tank Bigsby should make his Eagles debut. Za’Darius Smith will also make his Eagles debut. It will be interesting to see where he lines up. He has the ability to play on the edge or inside in nickel sets.

One area is key for the Eagles.

Cleaning up penalities are a major point of emphasis this week. The Eagles’ 6 penalties on defense tied for the most in the Sirianni era. Each Cowboys scoring drive included a penalty.

Since the start of last season: Opponents have scoring on 25% of drives without an Eagles…

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) September 11, 2025

When the Eagles defense plays clean, they are tough to beat. Last week they helped Dallas way too much. When they stopped with the penalties, Dallas wasn’t nearly as effective.

I’m really interested to see what Vic Fangio does this week. He will see what worked and what didn’t from the opener. He’ll coach up his players. He’ll tweak some of his play-calls. Fangio is a brilliant coach. Having some game film to show his players and a couple of extra days will help him get some things fixed. Having Carter back and Smith on the team will also help quite a bit.

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