Eagles push past Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch

They got a little bit of it anyway.

After allowing the Chiefs to methodically build a 10-point halftime lead on Monday night, the Eagles shut out Patrick Mahomes and Co. over the last 30 minutes. Jalen Hurts overcame a weak start in the cold, driving in the rain to run for a pair of touchdowns, and his fourth-quarter drive allowed the Eagles to walk away with a 21-17 victory.

“We weren’t thinking, ‘Hey, we’re coming here to hurt a loss,'” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said afterward. “That’s another dimension of the game. That was for everything. So we’re happy to get the win tonight.”

Furthermore, Sirianni said, “they are not giving us the rings back. I know.”

Still, the Eagles (9-1) became the first team to win at least nine of their first 10 games in consecutive seasons since the Colts in 2005-06, and they did it by beating former coach Andy Reid for the first time out of five. effort since he landed in Kansas City.

Eagles center Jason Kelce got the better of his little brother Travis Kelce for the first time. The Chiefs tight end may have had some luck with pop star and love interest Taylor Swift, who had to miss the game – he fumbled the ball in the red zone in the fourth quarter, when Kansas City trying to extend to 17-14. lead.

The Chiefs still had a chance with less than 2 minutes to go, converting on fourth down and getting help from a roughing the passer penalty. But a perfectly placed ball from Mahomes went through the hands of Marquez Valdes-Scantling for what would have been a 51-yard touchdown, and the Eagles stopped Kansas City on fourth down to put the game away.

“This is a growing season for us as a team,” Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones said.

Hurts only threw for 150 yards a pick, but he made the plays Mahomes couldn’t in the second half. He also received help from D’Andre Swift, who ran for 76 yards and a score, and DeVonta Smith, who caught a ball for 99 yards.

“I don’t think we played clean tonight. I don’t think we played up to our standard,” Hurts said. “But I think the one thing you can’t quantify is the resilience of a team, and the ability to see things through, and this team has that.”

It was only the ninth time two teams that played in the Super Bowl met in the regular season the following year, and the championship had won the previous four games. The last loss was Dallas against Buffalo during the 1993 season.

Mahomes was held to 177 yards passing for two touchdowns and an interception in the end zone. Isiah Pacheco added 89 yards rushing for the Chiefs, who couldn’t overcome two red-zone turnovers and numerous penalties.

“I think offensively,” Mahomes said, “I’m not where I want to be at this point in the season.”

Unlike the Super Bowl, when the Eagles blew a 10-point halftime lead, the Chiefs led 17-7 at halftime on Monday night.

It was knotted 7-all after Hurts and Mahomes traded first-quarter touchdown throws, and it was still tied when Mahomes hit Kelce on third down for the go-ahead TD with 1:45 left. And when the Eagles got the ball back, sacks by Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis gave them a real goal with 44 seconds left.

Enough time for Mahomes to get the Chiefs in range for Harrison Butker to add a 43-yard field goal.

But for all the praise the Chiefs get for their prolific offense, they have been terrible in the second half this season, scoring a league-low 53 points entering Monday night. And after two quick punts to start the half, Philadelphia finally took advantage of good field position, marching down the field before Hurts finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.

The Taoiseach continued to beat themselves — and the Eagles continued to benefit.

In addition to penalties that derailed their first two drives in the second half, Kelce fumbled the ball away at the Philadelphia 8 early in the fourth quarter. And when the Chiefs got the ball back and had to punt a few minutes later, Justin Watson couldn’t get the ball down at the Philadelphia 1, which led to a punt that gave him some breathing room. for Hurts and Co.

They went 80 yards the other way, and Hurts’ rush gave Philadelphia the lead in the fourth quarter.

“Resilience and communication stood out for me tonight,” Sirianni said, “and I can’t say enough about the defense. I can’t say enough about the job that our defense team and our defense team did.”