Chiefs beat Eagles 42-30: What we learned as Andy Reid earned his 100th win with KC
The Chiefs have shown a bad habit of letting teams hang around into the fourth quarter.
But this time, doing so didn’t hurt Kansas City in its Sunday game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill ensured the Chiefs wouldn’t lose a third straight game, connecting for three touchdowns in a 42-30 victory.
The outcome gave coach Andy Reid his 100th win at the helm for the Chiefs, making him the first coach to win 100 games with two different teams.
The notable accomplishment coming at the expense of Reid’s former team, of course. He won 140 as head coach of the Eagles.
“It’s good to be back, and then doing that here I hadn’t really thought about,” Reid said.
Sunday’s victory got the Chiefs back in the win column after two straight defeats, but this team is far from perfect.
Here are some things that stood out Sunday.
Run game shines again
For a second straight week, the Chiefs unleashed a steady dose of the running game behind good blocking to help control the clock.
Clyde Edward-Helaire gashed the Eagles for 102 yards on 14 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt, and marking the second straight game in which he topped the 100-yard mark. Darrel Williams chipped in with 42 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
As a team, the Chiefs totaled 201 yards. They rushed for 186 yards in Week 3.
“It’s one of those things that we want to obviously show that we can do,” Edwards-Helaire said. “We’ve shown it last year, but we needed to incorporate it this year and show that we can obviously run the ball. Not just run the ball, but run it effectively.”
Consider a message sent to the rest of the NFL: The Chiefs are establishing balance on offense.
“I think it’s just going to open everything up,” Mahomes said. “I mean, being able to run the football in this league is crucial.
“Being able to have the guys that we have and you see week by week, they’re getting better and better and better. ... You saw today once you run the ball a lot, defenses will come up a little bit and you can kind of hit them over the top.”
The Chiefs’ ability to run the ball Sunday gave them a 30:52-29:08 edge in time of possession.
Whether the Chiefs’ newfound commitment to the run becomes a trend, however, remains to be seen. They’ve usually leaned more heavily on Mahomes and the passing game.
“We want to be able to mix it up with one or the other and sometimes both,” Reid said. “I’m not big on trends.
“Once you have trends, these other guys are pretty good that you’re playing against and might knock you out of the ballpark. But we want to be able to do both, and do it when we want to do it.”
When the Chiefs are balanced between the pass and run, they are a hard team to contain.
Defensive issues continue
The Chiefs got the win, but their defense continues to be a work in progress.
The Eagles appeared to move the ball at will against the Chiefs, gaining 461 total yards on 70 offensive plays. In comparison, the Chiefs totaled 471 yards on 63 plays.
If there’s a positive for the Chiefs’ defense to take from Sunday’s win, it’s their red zone defense, which has been dismal overall this season.
Kansas City didn’t allow the Eagles, who entered the game with a 85.7 red zone touchdown percentage rate, to score a TD on every red zone trip.
Instead, the Chiefs held the Eagles to three short field goals in five red-zone opportunities.
After allowing opponents 11 touchdowns in 12 red zone chances in their previous three games, splitting the difference is a win for the Chiefs.
“Our defense did a great job in the red zone,” Reid said. “We held them to field goals instead of touchdowns. They were down there five times and we were successful in that part of it in three of the five times.”
AGGRESSIVE RETURN APPROACH
Special team coordinator Dave Toub must have given his returners the green light to come out of the end zone for Sunday’s game, because that’s exactly what Byron Pringle did on two kickoff attempts.
Two of Pringle’s attempts came after he’d fielded the football a few yards inside the end zone, and he almost fumbled away one return. Running back Jerick McKinnon saved Pringle by pouncing on the ball as it rolled around in the open field.
Pringle finished with four kickoff returns for 109 yards, averaging 27.3 yards per attempt.
INJURIES
Rookie defensive end Joshua Kaindoh left with an ankle injury in the third quarter, while linebacker Ben Niemann is in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“Other than that, we came out pretty healthy here,” Reid said.
INACTIVES
Defensive end Frank Clark (hamstring), cornerback Charvarius Ward (quad), cornerback Rashad Fenton (concussion protocol), guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, center Austin Blythe and wide receiver Darius Fountain were not dressed for the game.
With Ward and Fenton not playing, Deandre Baker drew the start at the left cornerback position.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs return home to host the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium.
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 3:59 PM.
