The Philadelphia Eagles love to keep fans on edge, and it was another one of those affairs Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a tough game which saw the Eagles go down early but battle back late on. Both offenses were sloppy, to say the least throughout the game, which was very different from their meeting last year in the Super Bowl. It was a true rock fight, but the Eagles offense made some big plays when it mattered. Their big-play ability is really what makes this offense scary despite all the other issues they may have. And while the Eagles offense did struggle throughout, the defense put up a good performance and kept them in the game.
Philadelphia Eagles Win Tells the Story About This Team
The Good and The Bad from the Offense
First off, give credit to Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense credit for their performance. They have been outstanding all year and reinforced that they are up there as one of the best defenses in the league. For the first time in a while, the Eagles offensive line met a tough matchup against the Chiefs defensive front. That lack of dominance up front really affected the Eagles offense, particularly in the first half. Jalen Hurts was sacked five times and regularly faced pressure, which completely derailed the passing game.
However, the mantra of the Eagles season this far is ‘just get it done’. It will be hard to convince anyone the Eagles offense looked good because they didn’t. However, they needed two big drives and got two big drives on the back of some explosive plays. The 35-yard run by Swift and the 40-yard catch by Devonta Smith were the biggest plays of the game, essentially setting up the Eagles win. As bad as the offense can look, it still must encourage fans that no matter how tough it gets, the Eagles can make big plays at any moment. Either through the run or the pass, the ability to get those chunk plays is what decides many games, as it has throughout the season.
play Devonta Smith highlights at my funeral pic.twitter.com/NixLVb9qsd
— 𝕩 (@xsta_ce) November 21, 2023
Is the Eagles Defense That Good or the Chiefs Offense That Bad?
Nobody is used to seeing the Chiefs offense struggle, but it’s been very apparent at times for them this season. It boded well for the Eagles that their biggest question mark being the secondary faced a Chiefs team with their biggest question mark being the receivers. It reared its ugly head in the best way for the Eagles with the dropped pass from Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling toward the end of the game. In reality, it seemed more that the Chiefs offense was just that bad in the second half, but people should still give some credit to the defense in this Eagles win.
New Safety Kevin Byard had his first interception with the team in the red zone that stopped the bleeding in the first half. The Eagles defense came up with another massive play in the red zone when Bradley Roby forced a fumble on Travis Kelce. In a lot of the same ways as the offense, the Eagles defense does not play solidly all the time, but in the same way as the offense, they can just create big plays in big moments. It’s not a reliable method, but it has worked thus far for the Eagles, for better or for worse.
THE BOY KEVIN BYARD’S FIRST INT AS AN EAGLE👏 pic.twitter.com/uQvnbiNzhL
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) November 21, 2023
Where To Go From Here After Eagles Win
This was only the start of the brutal stretch for the Eagles. Next on the docket is a home game against the Buffalo Bills who are coming off a trouncing of the New York Jets. This stretch will be imperative in finding out just how detrimental the Eagles potential problems are, or if this style of football just suits the Eagles. Pay attention to the offense and how they perform when teams make sure they take away the big plays from them. Or, the real question may be, is there any team that can take away the big plays from Hurts and company? If there is, then the Eagles offense will really need to re-evaluate their approach going forward.
Main Photo: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
