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Jalen Hurts and the Eagles continue to find ways to win in the recent victory over the Chiefs

ikramshoukat16 November 21, 2023

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Jalen Hurts and the Eagles continue to find ways to win in the recent victory over the Chiefs

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — By their own standards, the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs wasn’t a great performance. But it was another masterclass in winning.

Jalen Hurts eclipsed five sacks in the first half, the Eagles pushed aside some ineffective play on both sides of the ball and the result was a 21-17 win over Kansas City in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl.

“I would trade winning last year for this title, but it’s nice to get this title,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Sirianni was most impressed by his team’s intangibles in the win that left them as the league’s best team at 9-1.

“We have a group of players who know how to win,” he said.

The Eagles couldn’t protect Hurts before halftime when they trailed by 10 points and didn’t look much better when they opened the second half with straight three-pointers. But there was no panic on the sidelines.

“There’s a calm there,” Hurts said. “You have to really stay in control. You want to play at your level all the time, but things happen.”

Philadelphia eventually started making winning plays.

D’Andre Swift’s 35-yard run in the third quarter led to a 10-yard TD rush on a QB draw for Hurts that pulled the Eagles within three points. On the ensuing Chiefs possession, Bradley Roby stopped a long drive by punching the ball out of the hands of Chiefs TE Travis Kelce on Philadelphia’s 9-yard line. The Eagles took the lead for good in the fourth quarter when Hurts checked the scripted play and found DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard pass to the Chiefs’ 1, followed by Hurts scoring on a 1-yard run.

The offensive stats weren’t impressive, but the Eagles made enough plays at just the right time as they beat former coach Andy Reid for the first time in five tries.

“I don’t think we played clean, it was nowhere near our level,” Hurts said. “But the thing you can’t measure is the resilience a team has and the ability to persevere and this team has that. We have not yet performed to our level, but we continue to look for ways to win. This builds character.”

What to do

Hurts continues to lead the Eagles to victories, even if they don’t always produce the best performances. Against Kansas City, he had a passer rating of just 64.6, completing 14 of 22 passes for 150 yards while rushing 12 times for 29 yards and two touchdowns. These aren’t gaudy stats, but last year’s MVP, Chiefs QB runner-up Patrick Mahomes, is making winning plays. He read Kansas City’s coverage perfectly when checking off a play that put Smith one-on-one with safety Mike Edwards on the long, game-changing completion with 6:55 remaining.

What needs help?

Production at tight end. With TE Dallas Goedert (broken forearm) starting and Grant Calcaterra (ankle) leaving on reserve with an injury versus Kansas City, the Eagles are missing an important part of their offense. Third stringer Jack Stoll made one catch for three yards.

storage

With leading receiver AJ Brown on the other side of the field, Smith had another impressive outing. The third-year pro and former Heisman winner from Alabama caught six targets for 99 yards, including several tough hits over the middle, before securing a pivotal deep ball late that turned the game in Philadelphia’s favor.

Low stock

Can the NFL’s No. 2 receiver go here? Brown is tied with Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb with 1,013 yards, trailing only Tyreek Hill’s Dolphins’ 1,222 yards. But Hurts’ top target had just one catch for eight yards against Kansas City. He also had a miscommunication with Hurts over a second quarter goal that was intercepted by L’Jarius Sneed. Expect this high-performing stock to recover quickly.