Heres a fast sport preview heading into Sunday
Matt McMullen
The Kansas City Chiefs will look to bounce again from final week’s loss as they take the sector for the home-opener towards the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here are 5 issues to bear in mind heading into sport day.
1. Here’s a have a look at the ultimate damage report for each groups.
The main damage storyline for the Chiefs is the standing of vast receiver Xavier Worthy, who exited final week’s sport resulting from a shoulder damage. The excellent news for Worthy is that he returned to apply on Thursday in a restricted capability, and by way of the long-term outlook, Head Coach Andy Reid remarked that the workforce is not presently contemplating surgical procedure or a stint on Injured Reserve. As for this week, nonetheless, Worthy – who was formally listed as “Doubtful” on Friday – was downgraded to “Out” on Saturday.
The solely different damage designation for Kansas City is rookie vast receiver Jalen Royals, who’s listed as “Out” for Sunday. That means rookie defensive deal with Omarr Norman-Lott, who missed final week’s sport with an ankle damage, seems to be good to go.
The Eagles, in the meantime, shall be with out tight finish Dallas Goedert resulting from a knee damage. Goedert has been a serious contributor to Philadelphia’s offense for a number of years, making his loss a major one.
2. The Chiefs’ offense will intention to get off to a quicker begin.
Kansas City punted on every of its first three drives final week, netting solely 28 yards within the wake of dropping Xavier Worthy to a shoulder damage on simply the third snap of the sport. The Chiefs then rebounded considerably, nonetheless, to attain on every of their last 5 possessions the remainder of the way in which, making Friday’s sport a real story of two halves.
Here’s a have a look at the Chiefs’ offensive output by half on Friday:
First Half: 133 yards, 4.3 yards-per-play, 0-for-7 on third down
Second Half: 214 yards, 7.9 yards-per-play, 5-for-7 on third down
The Chiefs’ efforts within the second half have been extraordinarily encouraging contemplating the circumstances, and whereas there have been nonetheless areas the workforce might want to clear up notably too many penalties and a 1-for-3 mark within the crimson zone the efficiency is one thing the offense can construct on transferring ahead.
The key on Sunday, not like what occurred final week, shall be to search out that success proper out of the gate fairly than ready till their fourth collection of the sport.
“They positively got here out with extra vitality than we did,” stated quarterback Patrick Mahomes following the sport on Friday. “In this league, all people is just too good so that you can not match the vitality of your opponent, so I believe we realized a priceless lesson at this time. We must be higher from the get-go. We’re not going to have the ability to simply come again and win each single sportThis shall be a giant lesson for us.”
The Chiefs will attempt to apply that lesson straight away on Sunday towards an Eagles workforce, as mentioned under, that excels at enjoying downhill with a lead, making this week maybe much more than another the proper time to be emphasizing a quick begin.
3. The Eagles’ protection stays fairly proficient, however it does look a little bit totally different this time round.
Philadelphia boasts a formidable depth chart in any respect three ranges of its protection, however for what it is value, this group does look considerably totally different when in comparison with the unit Kansas City confronted in Super Bowl LIX.
On the defensive entrance, for instance, the Eagles misplaced defensive deal with Milton Williams (501 defensive snaps final 12 months) and edge rusher Josh Sweat (622 defensive snaps). Sweat led the Eagles in pressures final season with 55, whereas Williams ranked third with 40. The two gamers mixed for 11 pressures in Super Bowl LIX, too.
The identical is true within the Eagles’ secondary, the place Philadelphia now not employs contributors from final 12 months equivalent to C.J. Gardner-Johnson (908 snaps), Darius Slay (699 snaps), Avonte Maddox (345 snaps), Isaiah Rodgers (328 snaps) and Tristin McCollum (250 snaps).
The protection nonetheless stays one of many league’s finest with standouts like defensive deal with Jalen Carter, linebacker Zack Baun and security Cooper DeJean on the roster, however it’s all to say that this unit underwent some vital adjustments throughout the offseason, and not less than in Week 1 the Cowboys managed to search out some success offensively towards them.
Dallas scored on every of its first 4 possessions final week, and the Cowboys have been knocking on the door of a landing on their fifth possession earlier than fumbling the ball away within the crimson zone.
So, how did Dallas do it? The reply lies in (largely) mistake-free soccer. The Cowboys recorded simply three unfavorable performs for a grand complete of eight misplaced yards and dedicated solely 4 penalties all sport. Dallas additionally protected effectively, surrendering simply 9 complete pressures throughout the 28 dropbacks during which Philadelphia did not blitz the quarterback.
Additionally, the Cowboys have been glorious on third down vs. Philadelphia, tallying a league-best 63.6% conversion fee (7-for-11) on the evening. Unsurprisingly, all seven of the Cowboys’ conversions passed off on Third-and-5 or much less.
If the Chiefs are to maneuver the ball towards the Eagles on Sunday, it will possible be fueled by an identical method: Stay forward of the chains, convert on third down and end within the crimson zone. In different phrases, make the most of what the Eagles accomplish that effectively towards them.
4. Philadelphia excels at controlling the circulation of the sport. The Chiefs cannot let that occur.
The Eagles have perfected a scheme over time that punches the opponent within the mouth whereas draining clock and basically crushing the spirit of the opposition.
Last 12 months, for instance, the Eagles led the NFL in time of possession (32:23) whereas rating second in speeding (179.3 yards-per-game) and five-minute drives (36). They then picked proper again up the place they left off in final week’s opener, speeding for 158 yards (fifth-most within the league), possessing the ball for almost 35 minutes (sixth-most within the league) and tallying 4 drives that ate up not less than 5 minutes of clock (tied for essentially the most within the league).
Part of that success lies within the Eagles’ tendency to play four-down soccer, which is fueled by their mastery of the “tush push” quarterback sneak, however as we noticed final week quarterback Jalen Hurts’ scrambling capability can also be one thing to observe. Hurts scrambled 9 occasions towards Dallas final week, and three of these runs moved the chains on Third-and-3 or longer.
So, in different phrases, the Eagles excel at dictating the phrases of the sport to their opponents. If the Chiefs are to win on Sunday, they should not solely stop that, however as a substitute, dictate their phrases to the Eagles. Defensively, which means holding Philadelphia out of quick third down (and fourth down) conditions, and offensively, Kansas City has to maintain the strain on the Eagles’ offense with taxing scoring drives.
This all seems like primary soccer, however to the Eagles’ credit score, they’re masters of the elemental points of the sport. On Sunday, Kansas City might want to make Philadelphia play outdoors its well-defined schemes.
5. The Chiefs are sometimes at their finest following a loss.
The season-opener in Brazil was disappointing, however the excellent news for Kansas City is the Chiefs are sometimes at their finest following a loss. In truth, in video games that Patrick Mahomes has performed, the Chiefs are 19-4 following a loss. Mahomes has misplaced back-to-back video games simply 4 occasions in his 113-game profession, and simply as soon as over his final 64 video games.
Additionally, since 2018, no workforce has been simpler at house than Kansas City. The Chiefs’ .776 successful proportion at house throughout that point leads the NFL, and for the reason that finish of the 2023 season, Kansas City has received 12 consecutive house video games.
With all of that in thoughts, every week after Mahomes expressed that he felt the workforce got here out flat in Brazil, the vitality of the house crowd could possibly be precisely what the Chiefs have to get off to a quick begin on Sunday.
“I believe when you’re enjoying your first sport at [GEHA Field at] Arrowhead [Stadium] towards the reigning Super Bowl champions, there’s obtained to be some further juice,” Mahomes stated. “So, there is no cause you need to come out flat this sport.”
The Chiefs will look so as to add to these spectacular win totals at house on Sunday as Kansas City clashes with Philadelphia in one of many early marquee matchups of the season.
