Eagles’ perseverance again on display in come-from-behind win over Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The pass Jalen Hurts improvised soared skyward, seemingly airborne for centuries, spiraling long enough to soak up enough swirling mist to plunge downward like a dead bird. The Philadelphia Eagles , largely lifeless on offense, suddenly had DeVonta Smith open on the sideline, tracking a ball he’d say suddenly “died on me,” leaning leftward until the 41-yard strike pinned him a yard shy of the pylon.
One more play. One more Hurts run. One more “Brotherly Shove” touchdown, and the Eagles secured the go-ahead score in their 21-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs , yet one more second-half comeback in a 2023 season that so far has required four.
This one is so far the sweetest. This one is against the team that beat Philly in Super Bowl LVII. And although coach Nick Sirianni still says there’s “no question” he’d trade Monday night’s win for a victory last February, this one sets the Eagles firmly as the favorites to win it all this season.
Their 9-1 record is the best in the NFL , a standing that is both impressive and misleading for a team that, by its own admission, hasn’t played its best football. Flaws too often flow for a team that’s managed to win so frequently. But by battling back so often in critical moments, there’s a burgeoning confidence for players who have proven they can deliver when they must.
“When you win games like we’ve won games, that builds a ton of character,” said Hurts, who became the league’s fourth quarterback since the 1970 merger to start 9-1 in consecutive seasons. “We’re kind of, I guess, in character-development mode.”
The plot structure is now almost predictable: Spot the opponent a halftime lead, create conflict by signaling dysfunction on offense and disaster on defense, only to resolve both problems in the most climactic ways possible.
The Eagles, who trailed the Chiefs 17-7 at halftime, slogged through their first seven offensive drives. Outside a first-quarter possession in which D’Andre Swift scored on a 4-yard run, Philly managed just 15 yards on 20 plays. Hurts was sacked five times and picked off while underthrowing A.J. Brown on a decision in which he acknowledged he wasn’t on the same page with his receiver. Hurts has now tied a career-high nine interceptions in just 10 games.
Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes and perhaps the most inferior collection of wideouts in his career were confounding an Eagles secondary at its most bolstered depth in months, and the Chiefs were carving an NFL-leading Philly run defense at 6.1 yards per carry.
Red zone gaffes that plagued the Eagles in their Super Bowl loss returned in two first-half scores. No defender covered Chiefs wideout Justin Watson on his 3-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, and safety Kevin Byard was later blocked off by a pick-play route that freed tight end Travis Kelce for an easy 4-yard score .
Byard said it was his assignment to shadow Kelce in all man-to-man situations, but it was the two-time All-Pro safety’s plays in zone coverage that provided the defense’s most pivotal moments.
Mahomes, threatening to break a tie game in the second quarter, sailed a red zone pass to Watson that Byard stole while sneaking over from the middle of the end zone. It was Byard’s first interception since the Eagles acquired him in an Oct. 23 trade with the Tennessee Titans . In the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs leading 17-14, Byard slowed Kelce down on a red zone reception long enough for cornerback Bradley Roby to lunge forward and punch the ball loose for a fumble the Eagles recovered at their own 10.
“We needed it,” said defensive tackle Jordan Davis , who logged three tackles. “We needed it at that moment. We needed to get off the field.”
Had the Chiefs scored on either possession, their lead may very well have been insurmountable. But a second-half defensive surge in which the Eagles shut out the Chiefs and limited Mahomes to 99 yards passing paved yet another path for a Hurts-led comeback.
“We just kept saying on the sideline, ‘If they don’t score, we’re going to win this game,’” said Byard, who led the Eagles with eight solo tackles. “‘Our offense is going to find a way to get a score late.’”
First-year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson found the first solution. On their third possession of the second half, the Eagles deployed a two-back package that overloaded the Chiefs to their left side of the field. Swift fielded a jet sweep from the slot that sliced Kansas City’s right side for a 35-yard gain , the team’s second longest of the season.
The Eagles then adjusted their blocking scheme on a designed Hurts keeper that had lost 2 yards earlier in the game. On third-and-5 at Kansas City’s 10, left tackle Jordan Mailata and center Jason Kelce pulled to the right as Hurts wove untouched for a touchdown that pulled Philly within 17-14 with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
Then, with 6:55 remaining in the fourth, Hurts unfurled his 41-yard strike to Smith. Sirianni said Hurts checked to the pass pre-snap. The Eagles lined up in four-receiver packages 10 times against the Chiefs, often with Smith aligned in the slot, and Hurts noticed the look sometimes matched Smith one-on-one with safety Mike Edwards . Indeed, on the fourth-quarter play, Hurts saw the same defensive look. The ball snapped, Hurts focused left for seven steps, turned right and launched the game-winning pass downfield.
“That’s what good quarterbacks do,” Sirianni said. “They make three or four plays that change a game with their mind.”
BIG TIME PLAY pic.twitter.com/qRNiLbqolo— Philadelphia Eagles November 21, 2023
There are just as many plays that could have very well doomed the Eagles. Beyond the defense’s two red zone stops, the Chiefs still had one final shot at victory with 2:49 left in the game. Mahomes heaved what could’ve been a go-ahead, 51-yard strike had Marquez Valdes-Scantling , who sprinted past Roby, not dropped the pass near the goal line. Josh Sweat forced Mahomes into an intentional grounding on the ensuing play, which eventually yielded a victory-sealing turnover on downs.
“I don’t think we played clean tonight,” said Hurts, whose 14-of-22 passing for 150 yards marked a season low. “I don’t think we played nowhere near our standard. But the thing you can’t test or quantify is the resilience that a team has, the ability to persevere and overcome things. This team has that.”
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
