Andy Reid is almost unbeatable coming off a bye week, and the Chiefs used 5 sacks, and one ugly Jalen Hurts interception to jump out to a 17-7 lead at rainy GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Philadelphia All-Pro quarterback Jalen Hurts was 5-7 passing, for 46 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in the first half, while Kansas City held the Eagles to 82 total yards, on 13:21 time of possession and 0-3 on third downs with 25 total offensive plays.
With the second half now underway, here are key takeaways from the first half.
Haason Reddick strikes first
GETTIN' IN EARLY @Haason7Reddick pic.twitter.com/1YBz41OwBo
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 21, 2023
Reddick has 28 sacks over the last 28 games, including a sack of Patrick Mahomes on the second play from scrimmage.
Haason Reddick has recorded a sack in each of his last 3 games. He also has a sack in 4 consecutive road games, which is tied for the longest streak by an Eagle since Hugh Douglas in 2000 (5 games). #FlyEaglesFly
— John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) November 21, 2023
Bradley Roby makes his presence felt
Roby made a nice, physical tackle on the third play from scrimmage, helping to force a three and out.
Eagles first drive
Kansas City’s defense responded on the first drive, holding D’Andre Swift to four yards on two carries, and then sacking quarterback Jalen Hurts on third down.
Chiefs bring the pressure early
Kansas City sacked Jalen Hurts five times in the first half.
Zone pressure from Spags on third down to start. A little surprised by Philly's route distribution here – ended up with three guys really close to one another and probably didn't give Hurts an easy throw pic.twitter.com/8IhjrvUote
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 21, 2023
Chiefs 2nd drive
After a three and out, Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City on a 10 play, 80 yard drive that ended with a thre yard touchdown pass to Justin Watson.
Patrick Mahomes & Justin Watson (3-yd TD)
Mahomes scrambled 10.3 yards for 4.71 seconds before finding Watson open in the end zone. Watson had 8.7 yards of separation when the pass arrived; Kelce had two defenders within 2.5 yards.#PHIvsKC | #ChiefsKindom pic.twitter.com/ZXPe3TCLv9
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 21, 2023
The drive ate up 5:43 of time, and was highlighted by an Isiah Pacheco 24 yard run, and 46 total yards rushing.
Mahomes jump throw to Watson for six! #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #PHIvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/f0JSux0GFT pic.twitter.com/2KThNRjd8R— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
Eagles compensate for loss of Goedert
Dallas Goedert is out with a forearm fracture, and Philadelphia will be looking for different ways to replace his production. As Zach Berman noted, a four wide receiver set with just one running back is another creative way to open up space.
One new wrinkle to compensate for Dallas Goedert's absence: Eagles played 10 personnel — 4 WRs, 1 RB. Interesting wrinkle. Jones and Zaccheaus both on the field.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) November 21, 2023
Eagles second drive
Philadelphia got back to a nice run-pass ratio and added some physicality on a 9 play 75 yard drive that ate up 5:03 off the clock and ended with a four yard D’Andre Swift touchdown.
ANSWERED 🤫 @DAndreSwift pic.twitter.com/qlBegLGNXS
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 21, 2023
D'Andre Swift
Swift now has 651 rushing yards for the season after a strong first half against the Chiefs, and he’s surely on his way to his first 1,000-yard rushing season.
Yes it is the Swift Kelce show in Kansas City
What a block by Jason for D’Andre Swift
pic.twitter.com/kc7NTSdhhF— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 21, 2023
Swift logged 8 carries for 47 yards and the touchdown.
Travis Kelce gets on the board
Kelce didn’t log his first catch until 21 minutes and 27 seconds into the game, but he finished the first half with 2 catches, for 11 yards and a touchdown.
A.J. Brown Jalen Hurts discussion
The last time Brown and Jalen Hurts had a discussion, he went on to post six straight 125+ receiving yards games.
AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts were having an animated conversation after the interception. AJ has said they challenge each other and are very open and direct with each other
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 21, 2023
Brown had one catch for 8 yards in the first half.
Kevin Byard
After getting beat for a score earlier, Byard stopped another potential Chiefs touchdown with his first interception as a member of the Eagles.
You know what's going on, @KevinByard! pic.twitter.com/8qgHQsCpsZ
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 21, 2023
Byard finished the first half with 3 tackles, 1 pass defended and the one interception, while getting picked on Travis Kelce’s first touchdown.
Chris Jones
Jones missed one game and Kansas City promptly adjusted his salary. The All-Pro defensive tackle has been a menace in the first half, logging 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 2 QB hits.
Chris Jones has his 2nd sack in three plays 😤
📺: #PHIvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/f0JSux0GFT pic.twitter.com/Y75Hu2wsJE— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
Patrick Mahomes is a magiciian
The NFL MVP was 10-16 passing, for 78 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 interception in the first half.
.@PatrickMahomes escapes and tip toes the sideline for a 14-yard run #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #PHIvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/f0JSux0GFT pic.twitter.com/uujOXGXd6Q— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
Mahomes also had five key rushes, for 28 yards sin the first half.
Isiah Pacheco running Eagles out the building
The former Rutgers star has 12 physical carries for 66 yards (5.5 YPC).
Kadarius Toney
Kadarius Toney would be an All-Pro if he only played against the Eagles. Toney blew the Super Bowl open with a 65 yard punt return, and he struck again, returning a punt 21 yards to put Kansas City in scoring position.
Kadarius Toney knows a thing or two about big punt returns against Philly.
📺: #PHIvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/f0JSux0GFT pic.twitter.com/7d1lkhVb85— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
