Old school: 5 takeaways from Eagles-Chiefs a day later

The Eagles can win a game in many different ways.

In Super Bowl 59, they won ostentatiously. 40 points, a pick-six, 221 yards in the air.

Or, they can win how they did Sunday afternoon in Kansas City. Old school. 216 yards. Fighting for every inch. Nothing gaudy, just a grind-it-out win. That is what great teams are made of.

For the fifth time in the last five seasons, the Eagles went up against a team with a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame quarterback, and a Hall of Fame defensive lineman. This time, that team was seeking revenge. That team had never gone 0-2 together. That Hall of Fame quarterback had never lost three straight games.

Until now.

The Eagles went into Arrowhead Stadium, one of the toughest places to play, and came out with a 20-17 victory over the Chiefs. It has not been appealing or grandiloquent so far, but the Birds are 2-0.

Here are my five takeaways a day after the win:

1. The Eagles dominate the AFC. It is pretty crazy when you look at the numbers.

The Eagles have beaten 10 straight AFC opponents, going back to the 20-14 loss to the Jets in North Jersey, which kick-started the 2023 collapse. According to the great Rueben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia, that is the “third-longest streak ever by an NFC team over AFC teams, behind a 13-game streak by the Saints from 1987-1990, a 12-game streak from the 49ers from 1988-1991, and an 11-game streak from the Saints again from 2017-2019.”

I am not sure why, but Nick Sirianni just owns the AFC.

Another thing, the Eagles have won the last 16 games that Jalen Hurts has started and finished. This goes back to the Falcons’ loss in Week 2 of last season, a game in which they would have won if Saquon Barkley had not dropped the first down with less than two minutes to go.

2. Andrew Mukuba made the game-winning play on Sunday. The 22-year-old from Texas did not start out exactly as wished. He did have a pick-six in the preseason, but his first game last week did not blow anyone away.

Mukuba responded in a big way in Kansas City.

He shared a sack with Za’Darius Smith, he blasted Hollywood Brown for no gain after a short catch on a 3rd-and-1 in the third quarter, and, of course, he had the huge interception off Patrick Mahomes at the goal-line on a Travis Kelce drop and a 41-yard return with 13 minutes to go in the game. That led to the Eagles’ fourth-quarter touchdown, which was the game-winner.

These plays from Mukuba were enormous. They were winning plays. Very on-brand.

3. If this offense is going to pick up some steam, it starts with Kevin Patullo. Yes, the Eagles have the big, 28-yard lob to DeVonta Smith on a crucial third and 10 with 10.5 minutes to go, but they are going to have to be more aggressive.

The Eagles have had three 10-yard pass plays in two games. Just two over 20 yards, tied for the fewest in the NFL. With a receiving core featuring A.J. Brown, Smith, Dallas Goedert (yes, I know he did not play Sunday), and Jahan Dotson, that is inexcusable.

Hurts’ arm is good enough, and he absolutely trusts his receivers to go up and get a 50-50 ball. Call the big plays, and take some risks.

But, you need to credit where credit is due; they are making the plays they need to and have not turned the ball over. The Eagles are one of seven teams in the NFL that have not turned the ball over yet. Six of those seven teams have not lost yet.

Hurts also became the second quarterback to beat Mahomes three times, joining Joe Burrow. Hurts has not lost to Mahomes since Super Bowl 57, and I do not think it is crazy to say this is just the second time over the five matchups where Mahomes outdueled Hurts. And still, the Eagles got the win.

Hurts did not put up the incredible numbers again, but still got the win. He made the winning plays. Those will not show up on a stat sheet.

4. Vic Fangio has done it to the Chiefs again. He really has their number. This time, in complete contrast to the Super Bowl, he blitzed the crap out of Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Despite just two sacks, there were rushers in his face pretty much the entire game.

The Eagles had 10 quarterback hits, three from Jalen Carter, who responded massively after last week’s fiasco, two by Moro Ojomo, and one from Jihaad Campbell, Zack Baun, Mukuba, Smith, and Jalyx Hunt. That pressure and those hits are why he completed only 16 of 29 passes for just 187 yards with a mild 72.1 passer rating.

As great as Mahomes has been, he is 30 now. He does not have the weapons he once did, especially on Sunday with both WR1 and WR2 out, and when you keep getting hits on him, he is not the elite quarterback he used to be. We saw it in New Orleans in February, and we saw it again in Kansas City on Sunday.

5. Za’Darius Smith made an incredible first impression.

After signing with the Eagles last Friday, a day after the Week 1 win, he played 20 snaps, had four tackles, half a sack, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit. This is all on three days of practice with this team.

The 33-year-old was terrific. You never really know exactly what you are going to get with an older former Pro Bowler like Smith, but he, so far, is a fantastic addition to that edge rush rotation.

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