KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ This is the law of the NFL: One week, you can look great. The next week? Not so much.
In case you forgot that, the Chiefs' 27-20 win over Philadelphia on Sunday before an announced crowd of 74,971 at Arrowhead Stadium served as a perfect reminder.
A week ago, the Chiefs were the toast of the NFL. Their season-opening win over New England opened eyes around the league, as they relied on a newfound dynamism and mental toughness to hand Tom Brady and Bill Belichick their second regular-season loss at home to an AFC opponent since 2007.
But for most of Sunday's game, that performance seemed like ancient history, as the Chiefs _ especially offensively _ did not execute as efficiently as they did against New England.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, the resiliency they showed in New England _ when they battled back to win after a quick Patriots start _ would prove to serve them well on this day, as they managed to pull away late thanks to a few big defensive plays and some creative offensive play calling.
They'd need it all, however, to pull away from the Eagles (1-1). The Chiefs (2-0) could tell by halftime this would be no walk in the park.
The Chiefs only led 6-3 at the break, as they could only eke out a pair of field goals against the Eagles' smothering, aggressive front seven.
But while the Chiefs' offense sought answers, their defense was on point. Led by Justin Houston _ who finished with five tackles and caused a key turnover late in the game _ they harassed quarterback Carson Wentz, sacking him twice, and generally bottling up the Eagles' offense.
Problem was, quarterback Alex Smith was getting beaten up by the Eagles in the same manner. After absorbing a big blow in the second quarter _ after which he got up slowly _ he was sacked three times in first half.
Both offenses finally got untracked in the third quarter after making some halftime adjustments. The Eagles put together a scoring drive that was capped by a 16-yard touchdown catch by Alshon Jeffery, and the Chiefs' non-existent running game finally found some life when Kareem Hunt sprinted through a huge role and outraced the Eagles' defenders for a 53-yard touchdown.
Hunt's score gave the Chiefs a short-lived 13-10 lead, one that was erased when the Eagles responded with a field goal that tied the game early in the fourth quarter.
But that's when the Chiefs were able to lean on their resiliency to finish the job. On the Eagles' next possession, Houston deflected a third-down pass that was intercepted by defensive lineman Chris Jones.
This gave the Chiefs the ball at Eagles' 31 and set up the go-ahead score, a shovel pass from Smith to tight end Travis Kelce, who barreled through the defense and leaped over the goal line for a 15-yard touchdown that put the Chiefs ahead 20-13.
And while Smith finished the game with a respectable stat line, completing 21 of 28 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown, the Chiefs' defense continued their assault on Wentz. Houston racked up the fourth of six sacks of the day on Philadelphia's next offensive snap, which set up a three-and-out.
The Chiefs got the ball back with about five minutes left in the game and proceeded to finish the Eagles off with a six-play, 56-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Hunt, who finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns in 13 carries.
The Chiefs were rolling now, and they couldn't have picked a better time. The stadium was rocking, and for the remainder of the game, their defensive players hopped around before each play, soaking in the atmosphere. They'd found their groove again, after a slow start.
And in the NFL, a league where grooves aren't guaranteed to last long _ or better yet, come at all _ they were just fine with that.
