Eagles don’t get ring, but earn title of best team in NFL with come-from-behind win over Chiefs

The Eagles’ go-to quote ahead of their Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs was that they couldn’t get a ring even with a win.

It was their way of saying this was just another game, one of 17 in a regular season that’s deepest meaning is in how you are seeded for the postseason.

Believe them or not, it’s true that this was just one game, but it wasn’t just another game.

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This was a chance for the Eagles to finally beat Andy Reid , the franchise’s winningest coach who had owned them in four previous games since leaving Philadelphia after the 2012 season.

It was a chance for Jason Kelce to finally beat his little brother Travis, the best tight end in the NFL and the Boyfriend of the Year.

It was a chance for Jalen Hurts to take down Patrick Mahomes , the best quarterback on the planet and a two-time MVP.

Most of all, though, it was a chance to get to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in a brutal six-game stretch of the season.

The Eagles accomplished all of that and they did so after a disastrous first half in which they fell behind by 10 points and allowed Hurts to be sacked five times.

That’s typically a recipe for disaster against Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs, but the Eagles found a way to overcome all those obstacles with a sensational second half that included a shutout performance by the defense.

“We showed up when it mattered most,” Hurts said after leading the Eagles to a 21-17 win at Arrowhead Stadium. “Sloppy weather, we found a way. In this league, when you get to this time of year, you just want to find ways to win and that’s all that matters.”

After two three-and-out series to start the second half, the Eagles put together a 61-yard drive that ended with Hurts scoring his eighth rushing touchdown of the season on a third-and-five draw play from the 10-yard line.

It appeared as if the Chiefs would answer that score, but Bradley Roby, just back in the lineup from a pectoral injury, stripped the ball away from Kelce and the Eagles recovered at the Philadelphia 10-yard line.

Two series later, Hurts took the Eagles on a seven-play, 80-yard drive that included a 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith to the one-yard line that was followed by “Brotherly Shove” push of Hurts into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

“That was a hell of a catch by him,” Hurts said. “Just making a play when you needed it most. We’re winning games and we’re not even playing our best ball. We’re far from a finished product.”

From there, the Eagles held on for dear life and lucked out when Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a Mahomes pass inside the 5-yard line that would have put the Chiefs in position to win the game.

Whether the Eagles meant it or not, it was really just one game. But it was also the second game of a brutal six-game stretch. The Eagles survived at home against the Dallas Cowboys and came up with their best win of the esason , and now are 1-1 with a home game against the Buffalo Bills on a short week awaiting them.

Whether the Eagles meant it or not, it was really just one game. But it was also the second game of a brutal six-game stretch. The Eagles survived at home against the Dallas Cowboys and came up with their best win of the season , and now are 2-0 with a home game against the Buffalo Bills on a short week awaiting them.

That’s followed by an NFC Championship rematch with the San Francisco 49ers at home before road games against the Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks.

Will the Eagles still be the NFC’s No. 1 seed when that stretch is over? Will they still be ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East?

They sure look like a team that knows how to win no matter how they play and they proved it against the defending Super Bowl champions Monday night.