Chiefs safety says defense ‘itching’ to play the Philadelphia Eagles again. Here’s why
Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid said he tried to take his mind off football for the majority of his team’s bye week.
That, however, proved to be difficult.
“We’re all itching for the Eagles again,” Reid said in the locker room Thursday. “It’s probably going to be one of the most tuned-in games in all of the NFL season.”
Reid says his defensive teammates have plenty of reason to be fired up for Monday night’s game in Kansas City.
While the Chiefs won last year’s Super Bowl over the Eagles, their defense still surrendered five touchdowns while struggling to slow down quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“Defensively, we feel like we didn’t put our best game up in that game. Thirty-five points isn’t what we want to do,” Reid said. “So we feel like this is a big opportunity for us to go out and show our personality against one of the most high-powered offenses in the game.”
The Chiefs defense has been much better to start this season. In fact, KC hasn’t allowed any opponent to score more than 24 in its first nine contests.
Philadelphia is tied for third in the NFL at 28 points per game, while ranking seventh offensively in FTN Fantasy’s all-encompassing DVOA metric.
Reid said one key for the Chiefs defense would be better curbing Hurts in the run game. The quarterback had 15 carries for 70 yards with three touchdowns in Super Bowl LVII.
“If we just do a better job containing that run and not allowing them to get to those third- and fourth-down-and-short situations,” Reid said, “I think we’ll be in a better place.”
This also promises to be a compelling battle on the outside; Philadelphia has two top wideouts in AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, while KC will counter with defensive backs Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed.
“They’ve got two high-powered wide receivers. We’ve got two high-powered corners,” Reid said. “So it’s a matchup everybody’s gonna want to see.”
Reid said there was some benefit to rewatching last year’s Super Bowl to prepare for the game. Some plays carry over from one year to the next, while he also believes you can get a feel for a team’s personality and tendencies by studying its recent past.
Philadelphia’s game plan to attack KC’s defense should be different, Reid said.
But the Chiefs defense will also be ready to show more in what Reid predicts will be “one of the most competitive games in the entire NFL season.”
“We want to go out and prove that we’re the best team in the league. They want to go out and prove that they’re the best team in the league,” Reid said. “So there’s going to be some natural chippiness, and we look forward to the challenge.”
