Close Win In Arrowhead

    The first half was disgusting. Disgusting might not even be the right word for how awful it was. the Eagles could not get anything going and Patrick Mahomes was carving thier defense up. With two touchdown passes in the first half and a 17-7 lead, Mahomes looked poised to dominate the Eagles in a highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch. Jalen Hurts couldn't connect with his receivers, and part of that was the fact he didn't have time. He was sacked five times in the first half! Nothing was working, and the Chiefs looked unstoppable. 

    But the Chiefs must have forgot about the second half because the Eagles started chugging. I have a couple theories about the Chiefs horrible second half. First, maybe Andy Reid decided to make his receivers roll their hands in butter at halftime. Second, maybe they ran out of that special juice which magically got Patrick Mahomes feeling better in the second half of last year's Super Bowl. Or third, maybe Travis Kelce gave up because Taylor Swift wasn't in the stands. 

    Whatever the problem was, Philly took over.

    Jalen Hurts took no sacks, and ran for two touchdowns in the final two quarters putting the Eagles up 21-17, where they would stay. Hurts was by no means good, throwing an interception which looked like miscommunication between him and A.J. Brown, and had a 64.6 passer rating, but he did lead his team to a victory. A.J. Brown never got involved, finishing with only one reception for eight yards, but DeVonta Smith hauled in a huge 41 reception which set up a Brotherly Shove. Smith finished with 6 catches and 99 yards. D'Andre Swift scored once and ran for 76 yards. It was a sloppy game that featured 13 punts, but let's go over to the defensive side of the ball.

It was the Chiefs offense that gave Philly the win

Photo Credit:Bleeding Green Nation

    The Eagles couldn't do much offensively, so the defense played up. Despite giving up two touchdown passes, they held Mahomes to a 71.6 rating and 177 yards. Haason Reddick sacked him on the second play of the game, and Kevin Byard picked Mahomes off in the red zone, saving a touchdown. They managed to dominate the Chiefs by exposing them. This game gave a lot of information to the NFL. The way to defeat the Chiefs is to lock up Travis Kelce. Even if you send five guys at Kelce, Kansas City won't be able to move the ball. How? Because their receivers can't catch. The Eagles gave up a touchdown to Kelce, but held him to 44 yards. They also forced a Kelce fumble in the red zone, stalling a probable touchdown drive. Despite catching a touchdown earlier, Justin Watson had multiple drops, one on 4th and 25, which would have earned the Chiefs a first down. Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a touchdown, and the Chiefs lost mostly through the air. It wasn't the Eagles who held Kansas City to only 17 points, it was a lousy offensive game. 

    However, a W is still a W, and the Eagles are going to have to take what they can get. At the same time, that's been the story line for a lot of the games this year. Desperate finishes with a lot of luck. Although they many be climbing up the standings, no team can thrive off of fourth quarter finishes all year.

 The above photo was taken from a Bleeding Green Nation article. Photo taken by Jamie Squire/Getty Images. Image used for commentary.