5 Chiefs Players Who Could Give The Eagles Trouble Tonight

Finally, we have Eagles football again. We haven't seen them play since the Cowboys game over two weeks ago. The Eagles went from that game into the bye week. Then we had to wait until Monday night for the week 11 game. But thankfully we get awarded for our patience, with an exciting Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs on the docket for tonight.

The Chiefs, like the Eagles, are right back at the top of the NFL coming off the Super Bowl. While the Eagles are the only 1 loss team left in the league, the Chiefs are one of two 2 loss teams left in the league, and the only one in the AFC. But they are a bit of a different team this year. Last year's Chiefs team got their wins by just piling up points on their opponent. This team is far more reliant on the defense. Their offense is still good. But they are playing way below the standard we are used to from the Chiefs in the Patrick Mahomes era. The loss of Tyreek Hill two seasons ago is finally being felt. No one is giving them much production out of the WR spot.

The Eagles feel different too though. Their offense is still near the top of the league. But injuries, and aging starters, have led to a very leaky secondary. They hope the return of Bradley Roby, on top of Kevin Byard just having more time to adjust to the Eagles scheme, will change things. But to this point, most teams, besides the Rams and the Dolphins, have put up big passing numbers against this secondary.

It doesn’t need to be said that Patrick Mahomes is great. But one part of his game the Eagles really need to look out for in this game is his ability to extend plays. Mahomes holds onto the ball longer than almost any QB, and yet he has only been sacked 12 times. He may not rack up as many rushing yards as Lamar Jackson or other elite running QBs. But what Mahomes can do is buy lots of time with his legs. And no one is better at getting rid of it right before he gets hit. The Eagles need to find a way to get to him though. It is what this defense does best, and you get the sense the game could come down to if they can get pressure.

The Chiefs offense is more flawed than it has ever been. The WRs are just not very good. Rashee Rice has shown flashes but is far from a WR1. The one thing that still works as well as ever though is the Mahomes to Kelce connection. And that middle-of-the-field area is perhaps the Eagles' biggest weakness. Cee Dee Lamb operated mostly in the slot and tore the Eagles apart. And the Cowboys' second-best weapon was Jake Ferguson at TE. Hopefully, the return of Bradley Roby and Kevin Byard having more time to acclimate to the Eagles fixes things in the middle of the field. Because if not, Travis Kelce could put up numbers like Cee Dee Lamb did.

The Chiefs have oddly enough become a defense-first team this year. While the offense sputters a bit, at least by their standards, the defense is one of the best in the league. And a big part of that is Chris Jones. After holding out week 1 for a new contract, Chris Jones has been as good as ever. He has 5.5 sacks in 8 games and is 2nd on the team with 5 tackles for a loss. There are a few guys who cause problems along the Chiefs D-Line, including George Karlaftis who has 6 sacks, but Chirs Jones is the number one guy you need to worry about.

Pacheco is the Chiefs' second most dangerous offensive weapon. He averages 4.2 yards per carry and has 525 yards with 3 TDs. Nothing fantastic, but he has been a solid runner for them. The Eagles have been the best run defense in the league though, and contained guys like Raheem Mostert, Breece Hall, and Tony Pollard, just to name a few. The Eagles, more than any other team, are built to make the Chiefs one-dimensional. And if they can take the run game away, Travis Kelce is pretty much the only other guy doing anything consistently.

There was a lot of talk last year in the Super Bowl about the Chiefs having two young corners, Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed. And even though the Eagles lost, they were able to take advantage of that matchup with Hurts having an impressive performance through the air. That young secondary has experience now though, and they have been perhaps the best pass defense in the league. While they are not playmakers like the Cowboys’ pair of corners, they are shutdown corners in the truest sense of the word, holding opposing teams to the 5th fewest passing yards in the league.

The one thing the Eagles could take advantage of is that 3rd corner spot. Jaylen Watson and the other KC corners have not been as effective. So look for the Eagles to seek out those mismatches by getting Brown or Smith lined up against the other corners when they can.