The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense bailed them out of a messy game, allowing them to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30 and avoid dropping three games in a row. Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill put up video game numbers that ultimately put away a pesky Eagles team.
The Chiefs may still be in last place in their division, but don’t let that fool you. The Chiefs are still one of the best teams in the NFL, and their offensive performance proved it.
Here are five numbers that tell the story of the Chiefs’ victory against the Eagles.
5
Well, everyone should know what this number is referring to if you watched the game. Mahomes had a five-touchdown game, with three touchdown passes going to Tyreek Hill and one to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jody Fortson.
Along with Damien Williams’ one rushing touchdown, this added up to enough points to stave off Philadelphia. This was the first game where the Chiefs looked like the 2018 team during Mahomes’ MVP season.
45
Mahomes was great in this game, and it wasn’t just his arm that was doing all the work. 45% of his production came from his pass-catchers creating plays on their own.
Eight different players caught passes from Mahomes. This number is important to remember because the offense isn’t solely driven by Mahomes. He puts the ball in the best position for his playmakers to, well, make plays.
3
Contrary to Mahomes’ gunslinging nostalgia, this game reminded us just how reckless he can sometimes be with the ball. This game marks the third game in a row that Mahomes has thrown an interception.
It seems as if some of Mahomes’ luck may be running out. After having a whopping 19 dropped interceptions last year, it appears that defenders’ gloves may have gotten a little more sticky this offseason.
If Mahomes keeps throwing these interceptions, he’s gonna end up leaving his defense in difficult positions, and it will come back to haunt them against more talented teams.
387
Speaking of defense, what is defense? The Chiefs clearly have no idea. The Eagles’ offense has been one of the biggest surprises thus far in the NFL, but that’s no excuse for letting Jalen Hurts throw nearly 400 yards on you. The Chiefs are supposed to be a Super Bowl team and should have had no problem with the Eagles. To allow 30 points and 387 passing yards is unacceptable.
This game also showed that Mike Hughes is still adjusting, despite his recent game-winning interception against the Cleveland Browns. Hughes gave up five first downs and a touchdown against the Eagles.
Not only did Hurts throw for 387 yards, but he also did it while throwing to eight separate receivers. This shows that the hole in defense isn’t just one player and that Steve Spagnuolo needs to revamp this defense if Kansas City wants to contend.
56
While the passing defense was atrocious, the Eagles had little success running the ball. Their most productive running back of the day was Kenneth Gainwell, who had three carries for 31 yards. The next most productive runner was Hurts, who had 47 yards rushing on eight carries.
Hurts proved to be the Eagles’ whole offense. The Chiefs showed promise to be able to stop the run from running backs, but not from the quarterback position. However, holding the running backs to a total of 56 rushing yards is impressive. The run defense far outshined the pass defense in Sunday’s win.
