A plucky Eagles team led by Andy Reid disciple Doug Pederson couldn't topple the mentor himself in Kansas City on Sunday. Here's what we learned from Sunday's 27-20 Chiefs win...
- Pederson was visiting former sensei Andy Reid but seemed far more deferential to Reid's defensive coordinator, Bob Sutton. The Eagles tried to develop their running game by force feeding the veteran Darren Sproles, who led the team with 10 carries. Philly also tried to use the screen game to negate what was a brilliant job by Sutton to match up some of his best pass rushers against Philadelphia's least dependable offensive linemen. The result was a much more frantic Wentz who had defenders in his face constantly (10 quarterback hits, six sacks). However, it was that screen game that ended up biting the Eagles in the end. A Wentz inside screen bounced off Justin Houston's shoulders and landed into the arms of Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones. Five plays later (including a shovel pass!) the Chiefs were up a touchdown.
- While the New England Patriots certainly rebounded Sunday, where do the Chiefs end up on everyone's power rankings Tuesday morning? These are two marquee wins to start the season (beating a talented team constructed with your head coaching principles is never easy). Some will say Alex Smith returned to a conservative style of play, but he still hit on passes of 44 yards and 35 yards. Andy Reid's movement of Travis Kelce early in the game set up an unwinnable chess match for the Eagles' defense. Kareem Hunt (two straight games with a touchdown of more than 50 yards and five touchdowns overall in two weeks!) continues to make his case for rookie of the year. There might not be a team more difficult to game plan for in the NFL right now.
- Eagles fans will not be happy with a loss, but have to be a little bit fired up about the final five seconds of the game. A fantastic onside kick and corresponding special teams play by Trey Burton on the recovery, and then Carson Wentz comes onto the field enthused. This team has taken on an edge under Pederson and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, which showed against a difficult opponent.
- Another positive for the Eagles? A nice game to really establish Alshon Jeffery. The pricey free agent wideout caught seven of 13 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. Had Torrey Smith (4 of 8 targets for 66 yards) been as successful, especially on two turnaround catches that ended in drops, we might have been talking about overtime. Should Ezekiel Elliott go down, Philadelphia's offense offers the best counterpunch to the division's best defense (the New York Giants). Sustaining momentum is key, though, as everyone saw with the Eagles a year ago.
- There really is no soft spot in Kansas City's schedule this year, but if there was a softer place, it would be over the next two weeks. Andy Reid and Co. head to Los Angeles to face the Chargers and then come home for a Monday Night Football game against the Redskins before traveling to Houston to face the Texans. We could be looking at a pair of undefeated teams on Sunday, Oct. 15 if the Steelers, who also have a fortuitous run (Bears, Ravens, Jaguars), stay on course.
