By Ron Johnson
Eagles vs Chiefs Recap – Week 11
It was touted by every football fan as the game of the week let alone the year. It was indeed the biggest matchup of the week, and it lived up to the hype in every sense of the word. No matter which team you were rooting for last night, the game lived up to the promise of must-see TV.
In the end, the Eagles got a little redemption for the Super Bowl fiasco and then some.
Jason Kelce finally got that elusive win over his younger brother Travis in the absence of Taylor Swift, while the biggest OMG WTF moment had to have come from Marquez Valdes-Scantling as the Philadelphia Eagles silenced the comeback of the Kansas City Chiefs and the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.
After a poor start in the cold rain, Jalen Hurts managed to find his footing late in the fourth quarter as he scored the go-ahead touchdown thanks to a massive tush-push to lead the Eagles to a 21-17 victory over the defending Super Bowl Champs. The win for the Eagles marked their ninth victory in their first 10 games for another season, becoming the first to do so since the Colts in 05-06. The win also gave the Eagles their first win over former coach Andy Reid in five attempts since he joined the Chiefs.
The younger Kelce had some bad luck on this night as well. While his main squeeze was absent from the game, Travis managed to fumble the ball away in the red zone late in the fourth as the Chiefs were driving in an effort to extend their three-point lead.
This is where Valdes-Scantling’s faux pas comes into play.
With less than two minutes to go in the fourth, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes launched a perfect throw to the Chiefs wideout, but it seemed he was having his own Kadarius Toney moment as he let the ball slip through his hands on what would have been a 51-yard touchdown prior to the Eagles stopping the Chiefs on fourth down to kill KC’s comeback.
Both quarterbacks had their share of bad moments, though, as Hurts accumulated 150 yards on 14/22 passing with zero touchdowns and one pick. He was also kissing the ground he was running on five times. Mahomes had better numbers but not by much as he garnered 177 yards on 24/43 passing with a pair of touchdowns and one pick himself.
Swift and Pacheco were working overtime in the rain as Swift carried the ball 12 times for 76 yards and the Eagles opening touchdown, while Pacheco carried the rock 19 times for 89 yards for the Chiefs.
The win keeps the Eagles at the top the NFC East at 9-1, but it also makes them the top team in the league and puts them as the overall No. 1 seed if the playoffs were to start today. As for the Chiefs, they fall to 7-3 and into a four-way tie for the second seed with Cleveland, Miami and Jacksonville. Baltimore now takes the top spot due to having one win more than the Chiefs.
Kansas City now shifts its focus and prepares for their visit to Sin City to face the resurged Vegas Raiders, while the Eagles prepare to entertain the Buffalo Bills at home.
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!!