Week 2 Eagles vs. Chiefs game preview: Mahomes and Co. get early season crack at avenging embarrassing Super Bowl loss
Kansas City aims to avoid 0-2 start to the season in a Super Bowl 57 and 59 rematch loaded with storylines.
There have been some buzzwords floating around since the end of the São Paulo trip and this week within the facilities at One Arrowhead Drive.
After getting outplayed by the Los Angeles Chargers in week 1, Chiefs coach Andy Reid described the team as “flat” immediately following the game. This week, after taking blame for it, he said the team also lacked “energy.”
“Yeah, there are no excuses for any of us on what took place,” Reid said. “We’ve got to do better. Energy is one of the things, for sure.”
The Eagles are traveling to Arrowhead for week 2 with the Chiefs now riding a two-game losing streak.
The Chiefs were embarrassed to the tune of a 40-22 defeat in Super Bowl 59 at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only will they not survive a lack of energy, but they will also need to come out swinging this week.
“I think if you’re playing your first game at Arrowhead against the reigning Super Bowl champions, there’s got to be some extra juice,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “I mean, it’s our first home game, I’m sure there will be a cool flyover, you know, you get everything you need. So, there’s no reason you should come out flat this game.”
It is unclear if this is a chicken-or-the-egg type of thing. This weekend should show whether or not the Chiefs have been lacking energy over the last two games or if they are simply not making enough plays to channel it.
The Eagles will be the litmus test.
“This is a really good football team,” Mahomes said. “I mean, there’s no way around it. They’re good at every aspect on defense and obviously on offense as well. … And it’s going to take our best football to go out there and get a win.”
The Eagles opened the NFL season with a 24-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys. It was an odd game that included a lengthy weather delay and an ejection of defensive tackle Jalen Carter for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Dallas actually outgained Philadelphia, with the Eagles also being described as coming out “flat.” This will be a tough matchup for Kansas City, but the Eagles showed vulnerability.
The Eagles handed the Chiefs a defeat in the 2023 regular season, following Philadelphia’s loss to them in Super Bowl 57. Kansas City will attempt to do the same in week 2 of the 2025 season.
It was not all bad for the Chiefs in week 1, after all. The defense may have never completely woken up, but the offense scored on its final five drives of the game. The foundation was laid to build upon.
A loss will make the Chiefs 0-2 for the first time since the 2014 season. A win would alter the negative narrative surrounding them since last February’s defeat and last Friday’s 27-21 loss.
Can the Chiefs' O-Line flip the narrative?
A lot will be known of the Chiefs' revamped offensive line by the end of the next three weeks. They will have faced three great pass rushes in the Eagles, New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens.
New left tackle Josh Simmons and left guard Kingsley Suamataia performed well enough for the offense to function in week 1.
“I liked the effort they (Josh Simmons and Kinglsey Suamataia) put in and there were more good plays than there were bad plays,” Reid said. “(There’s) some great things to learn from. There were some things that they did, I thought, very well. It was progress, and they’ll keep growing as we go on here.”
This will be a much higher-level assignment, though.
Kansas City is still fresh off a Super Bowl performance against Philadelphia, where Mahomes was pressured early and often, all night long.
Jawaan Taylor and Simmons will be dealing with speed coming off the edge. Both Nolan Smith and Jaylx Hunt gave Taylor and Joe Thuney major issues with their high-end talent in the Super Bowl.
Suamataia will have his most significant test of his young career at the guard position. Carter possesses size, strength and speed inside at the interior. Moro Ojomo is no slouch, either.
One way this offensive line could help itself is by being more dominant in the run game. The three interior offensive linemen for the Chiefs are all known for strong run blocking traits, but that did not translate in week 1.
If the guys up front and the offense can establish the run game, it could prevent Smith, Hunt, Carter and company from pinning their ears back, down after down.
“Really, in football in general, the more balanced you are, and especially when you look at a team like Philadelphia, it’s always going to help,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said earlier this week.
Mahomes led the team in carries, yards rushing and rushing touchdowns. That is never a good sign.
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Wide receiver one, Hollywood Brown
One reason to give grace to Kansas City’s sluggish start in week 1 is that they lost Xavier Worthy three plays into the game. It was clear Worthy was a significant part of the game plan after the offense punted on three straight drives.
Whether he was ready for it or not, Hollywood Brown was thrust into the offense's go-to target. Mahomes targeted the former first-round pick 16 times.
Brown ended his night with 10 catches for 99 yards, all while working towards being the focal point on the fly.
Reid gloated about JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton stepping up as well, but he really liked what he saw in Brown.
Worthy’s shoulder dislocation is termed day-to-day right currently. He did practice in a limited capacity on Thursday, but it is more likely than not that he sits this one out.
The most likely outcome is that Brown will again be Mahomes' most targeted, only this time he will have a whole week to prepare for it.
“Yeah, I think you saw in the game that Hollywood (Brown) just kind of got more and more comfortable as the game went on, and we asked him to do a lot of things,” Mahomes said. “He kind of had to run his routes, Xavier’s (Worthy) routes and kind of all the in between. And so, I thought he did a good job of recognizing what he needed to do, recognizing coverages and making plays happen. And so, he’ll be big these next couple of weeks as we try to get Xavier back and get Rashee (Rice) back and everything like that. But it’s something I think he’s ready for.”
Jalen Hurts’ legs
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was not exactly known for his running ability, but that did not stop him from exploiting the Chiefs in that way.
That will be magnified two-fold this week. That is precisely what the Super Bowl 59 MVP is known for.
The Chiefs' defense managed to contain all-pro running back Saquon Barkley in the Super Bowl, but Hurts led the team in rushing with 71 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Whether it is deploying Drue Tranquill or Leo Chenal as a quarterback spy or assuring stronger rush lane integrity along the defensive line, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will need a better plan than the one laid out over the last two games.
“Yeah, it seems like we play one of these quarterbacks every week,” Spagnuolo said. “ … The guy (Hurts) we are getting ready to play this week is elite at that (scrambling). We’ll talk till we’re blue in the face about pass rush lanes and containing and we’ll have some things that we hope will take that away.”
Can the Chiefs' pass defense rebound?
Once again, we have a chicken-or-the-egg issue here.
When the pass rush puts pressure on the quarterback, the defensive backs do not have to cover as long.
When the defensive backs cover better, the defensive line can get home on coverage sacks or at least apply pressure.
Both areas of the defense were not good last Friday. Herbert tossed the ball wherever he wanted, whether he was scanning from the pocket or getting the ball out quickly.
Jones was largely quiet, defensive end George Karlaftis did some damage and Charles Omenihu seemed non-existent.
Rookie Ashton Gillote provided some pressure, but only played nine defensive snaps. Fellow rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott did not play (ankle), but has been a full participant this week.
They could be part of the answer as far as the pass rush goes.
The defensive backfield is more of a coaching decision, though. This offseason, the Chiefs signed cornerback Kristian Fulton to a two-year $20-million contract, but the veteran only played 15 snaps against his former team.
He was a non-participant for the first several weeks of training camp, so that could be part of the plan.
What Fulton can do for the defense, if healthy, is give them competence, along with Jaylen Watson at the outside cornerback position. That would allow Spagnuolo to kick Trent McDuffie inside to the slot-corner position.
Chamarri Conner, who has been manning the nickel position, played 30 snaps there in week 1. According to PFF, Conner allowed 7 receptions on 7 targets and 100 yards receiving.
Not only would it put McDuffie back in a position where he earned first-team all-pro honors, but it would also allow Conner to shift to his most natural position, which is safety.
As an added bonus, the Chiefs could use some help at safety as well, after up-and-down play from Jaden Hicks and Bryan Cook to start the season.
Herbert racked up 318 yards and 3 touchdowns on eight drives against the Chiefs' defense to start the season.
Spagnuolo did agree that the Chargers' typical run-heavy offense, coming out with an explosive passing attack, could have had something to do with it.
“ … Quite frankly, going into the game, we all felt like they were going to establish the run first,” Spagnuolo said. “To their credit, they kind of shifted gears right from the beginning. Maybe it threw us off a little bit, but that’s football … Maybe we could’ve adjusted a little bit quicker.”
Perhaps coming off a recent matchup against the Eagles, Spagnuolo will have a better feel for how they plan to attack the Chiefs' defense, leading to a better performance.
Key injuries
Chiefs: Wide receiver Jalen Royals (knee) has not practiced this week, wide receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder) has logged a did not participate and a limited practice, linebacker Drue Tranquill (knee) practiced in full after being limited earlier in the week and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (ankle) has practiced in full every day this week after sitting out week 1.
Eagles: Guard Landon Dickerson (back) and edge rusher Jalyx Hunt (hip) have both practiced in full after being limited earlier this week. Tight end Dallas Goedert (knee) has not logged a practice yet this week.
Key game details
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Date: Sunday, Sept. 14
Kickoff: 3:25 p.m. CT
TV/Streaming: FOX
Broadcasters: Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady
Radio: 96.5 The Fan
Head Referee: Alex Kemp
Betting Line: Chiefs +1 | Moneyline: +101 | Over/Under: 47
Weather Forecast: Mostly cloudy skies, 93°, winds around 10-15 mph, 7% chance of rain
