Tonight’s Eagles and Chiefs game, much like their Super Bowl matchup, was everything we asked for.
Primetime games in the NFL have been lackluster this season. In all honesty, that’s the way it works. The schedule makers try their darndest to put the best game together six months in advance, and we end up with a few gems. More so, rarely is a game advertised as a gem actually that. The Eagles and Chiefs Super Bowl rematch was the exception.
It looked like the Chiefs were the better team for much of tonight’s game. In the end, the Eagles prevailed. With 8:56 left in the game and trailing 17-14, the Eagles completed a seven-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by QB Jalen Hurts. It was 6:20 in the fourth quarter before Philadelphia took their first lead. Naturally, it was the oft-bandied “Tush Push” that put the Eagles on top.
Coming into this game, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts had two of the top five winning percentages among all NFL quarterbacks with a minimum of 25 starts, with Mahomes having the best mark and Hurts having the fifth.
Jalen Hurts’ second rushing touchdown of the game gave the Eagles the eventual decisive score tonight. Hurts’ game-winning touchdown gave him 10 multi-rush touchdown games for his career. That ties Cam Newton for the most multi-rush touchdown games by a quarterback since 1950, per Stathead.
In the game’s closing minutes, the Chiefs had a chance to win. However, they turned the ball over on downs after reaching their own 49-yard line. On second-and-10 near the goal line, an open WR named Marquez Valdes-Scantling could not come down with a deep throw. It might have proven to be the go-ahead score if he had caught it.
The Kansas City Chiefs held a 17-7 halftime lead but failed to score in the second half for the third consecutive game, averaging an NFL-low 5.3 points per second half this season.
As good as Kansas City is, their second-half offense — or lack thereof — has been a concern all season. For a while, I believed that the Chiefs were coasting or playing with their food. But it’s Week 11, and the Eagles are a potential Super Bowl preview. They looked no different tonight. That’s a significant problem for the Chiefs.
The Eagles secured a victory, bringing their record to 9-1 for the second consecutive season. They are the first team since the 2005-06 Colts to start 9-1 or better in consecutive seasons. This win was the team’s fourth this season after trailing at halftime (4-0), which is the most such wins and the best record of any NFL team.
Hurts completed 14 of his 22 passing attempts for a total of 150 yards, with one interception and two rushing touchdowns, including the game-winning one. This was the 11th game of his career in which Hurts scored two or more touchdowns on the ground.
Mahomes completed 24 of his 43 passing attempts for a total of 177 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. One of the touchdowns was caught by tight end Travis Kelce, who unfortunately fumbled in the red zone during the fourth quarter. Kelce also had a crucial drop on third down during the final drive of the game.
In our winning era pic.twitter.com/SnnPIUyU0i
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 21, 2023
