A Big Test

[time2rock]

A Big Test

Posted: November 15th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

In case you forgot, the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl last year. Kansas City had a great season and won a lot of big games last year. They were a deserving champion. The Chiefs are off to a 7-2 start this year, but don’t feel the same. They will still be a big test for the Eagles.

KC had the top scoring offense in the league last year. They went 14-3 in the regular season and won five games by 14 or more points. This season the Chiefs are 11th in scoring offense and have only won a single game in a blowout. They are still really good, but they are different. They are vulnerable.

The calling card this year has been the defense. They are second in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed. Andy Reid’s guys aren’t lighting up the scoreboard, but they keep opponents from scoring as well. That’s not the worst formula in the world. Patrick Mahomes makes just enough plays to win games. And that Kelce guy they have is still a pretty good player.

The big difference this year is that the other skill players aren’t doing much. Eagles WRs have 12 TD catches this year. Chiefs WRs have 7. The whole team only has 4 rushing TDs. The Eagles have 12. Mahomes still makes the Chiefs a dangerous offense, but not in the same way they’ve been in the past.

The X-factor here is that both teams are coming off the bye week. Reid is still one of the best offensive minds in football. He has been masterful throughout his career at getting his teams to play well after the bye and down the stretch. I’m sure Big Red and his staff have some ideas on how to fix the KC offense.

The Eagles will be different as well.

NB Bradley Roby should be healthy and ready to play. That could make a big difference. Roby isn’t going to come in and be some elite defender, but if he can prove to be effective most of the time, that would be a big upgrade.

Evans probably won’t be back this week, but he’ll be returning soon. That will give the Eagles another veteran DB. They can be more creative with multiple safety looks or dime packages with Evans and Roby in the secondary.

Sean Desai has the Eagles playing the run well. He has them rushing the passer well. The next challenge is getting them to improve in pass coverage. Some of that is scheme, but a lot is on a leaky secondary. Having stability and veteran players back there could make a big difference. The numbers aren’t pretty right now.

One of the added challenges for Desai is figuring out what to do with Travis Kelce. The Eagles have struggled against TEs this year. Kelce is the best TE in football (apologies to Jack Stoll). I’m sure Desai will throw double-teams at him, but he can’t do that on every play. It will be interesting to see who Desai chooses to use on Kelce. I would think he’ll mix things up. This might be a good match for James Bradberry. He certainly owest the Eagles a big game this year.

In the Miami game Desai proved he could put together a gameplan to slow down an elite offense. The Chiefs aren’t elite right now, but Mahomes is still a special QB and you have to be at your best to slow him down. Desai needs a strong plan this week. One or two key stops could prove to be the difference in the game. That was certainly the case last week.

The Eagles couldn’t get that stop in February and it cost them the Super Bowl. The defense isn’t putting up the same kind of overall numbers they did last year, but they feel better in the sense that they aren’t just getting the best of scrubs, rookies and backup QBs. They beat Tua, Dak, Stafford and Cousins already.

Monday night will give us another clue about where the defense is and if they have the potential to win key games in the postseason.

*****

We’ll see if Desai tries some of this.

Desai has had time to study the first nine games. He will have a healthy defense. He can be as creative as he wants. It will be fun to see what he does.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/11/a-big-test-2/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

The Chiefs are good. Really good. And they know how to win and Andy is really good off the bye. So this is a huge test. But they aren’t the juggernaut they have been in recent years. I think if we can limit that offense we are going to have a huge chance to get a massive win on the road.