KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It wasn’t the cleanest win of all time but the Eagles did enough to beat the Chiefs 20-17 in a Super Bowl LIX rematch on Sunday afternoon.
After being tied at 10-10 at halftime, the Eagles were able to do enough in the second half with a key takeaway and a big pass to DeVonta Smith to set up a touchdown to win the game.
Even with a late touchdown from the Chiefs, the Eagles’ offense was able to close out the game and not give the ball back.
Here’s the Week 2 report card:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 15/22, 101 yards; 9 rushing attempts, 15 yards, 1 TD
It was an unspectacular performance from Hurts but he was once again efficient. He completed 68% of his passes and didn’t turn the ball over. His biggest play of the game was a 28-yarder to DeVonta Smith on a third-down zero blitz. That was basically Hurts tossing the football up to give Smith a chance. Will the passing offense have to improve at some point this season? Absolutely. But Hurts did enough to win on Sunday despite seeing a blitz rate of 64% in this game. He doesn’t care about how many yards he throws for and he made sure to tell Chris Jones that.
Grade: B
Running back
Saquon Barkley: 22 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD
Barkley didn’t break a long run in this game. In fact, his longest run was his 13-yard touchdown. But his 22 carries were key in grinding out a win on a day where the passing attack just wasn’t completely in sync. Even though he didn’t break one, he did make some really impressive plays like when he ran over a defender on a pass to the right sideline. Without Will Shipley (oblique), A.J. Dillon had 3 carries for 19 yards.
Grade: B
Receiver
DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 6 targets for 53 yards
At one point on Sunday, DeVonta Smith took an awkward fall onto his back and came up in some obvious pain. That’s why it was even more impressive when he caught a 28-yarder on 3rd-and-10 when the Chiefs sent a zero blitz in the fourth quarter. That was the key play on the Eagles’ final touchdown. “He came down on his back, but he came up in the clutch,” Jalen Hurts said poetically. A.J. Brown was more involved in Week 2. He led the team with 8 targets and had just 5 catches for 27 yards. Most of that came on slants.
Grade: B
Tight end
Grant Calcaterra: 1 catch on 2 targets for 6 yards
The Eagles were without Dallas Goedert in this game because of a knee injury. So they had Grant Calcaterra, Kylen Granson and elevated Cameron Latu from the practice squad. In addition to Calcaterra’s one catch, Granson had one catch for 5 yards. Latu played some fullback and looked good in that role. Still, it’s obvious the Eagles missed Goedert on Sunday.
Grade: C+
Offensive line
It wasn’t the best game for the offense but the line seemed to be OK, especially in the run game in gotta have it situations. That includes on the Tush Push. The Eagles ran their signature play 6 times and converted on 4 of them, resulting in +16% in win probability added, per NextGenStats. Landon Dickerson (back) was able to make it through the whole game.
Grade: B
Defensive line
Za’Darius Smith: 4 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 QB hit
The Eagles didn’t sack Patrick Mahomes six times like they did in the Super Bowl. They finished Sunday’s game with just two. But they got good pressure for a lot of the night. It was clear how much Za’Darius Smith is going to help Vic Fangio’s defense. Also a huge 4th-down stop from Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
Grade: A-
Linebacker
Jihaad Campbell: 7 tackles, 1 QB hit
Ho hum. The Eagles have good linebackers now. Campbell led the team in tackles and Zack Baun had 6 tackles and a QB hit. Neither Campbell nor Baun made the types of spectacular plays they made in Week 1 but both were very solid.
Grade: B+
Secondary
Drew Mukuba: 6 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 INT, 1 PBU
The biggest play of the game was Drew Mukuba’s fourth-quarter interception. It wasn’t some spectacular sprawling INT but when the ball bounced off Travis Kelce’s hands, Mukuba caught it and ran the other way for a big return. A huge play for the rookie. Mahomes threw for just 187 yards in this game and 49 came on that late touchdown pass with 3 minutes left on a blown coverage. Adoree’ Jackson was better in Week 2.
Grade: B+
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 2/2 on FGs from 58 yards, 51 yards
After going 1-for-7 from 50+ last year, Jake Elliott is 3-for-3 already this season and on Sunday afternoon made kicks from 58 and 51 yards. He’s back to being a long-distance weapon. The Eagles’ hands team (A.J. Brown specifically) came up with the ball on that late onside kick too. Braden Mann did have a touchback on Sunday but averaged 54.8 yards per punt and downed one inside the 20.
Grade: A
Coaching
Record: 2-0
The Eagles pulled out a tough and gritty win on the road against a team that was in the Super Bowl them last year. So Nick Sirianni and his staff deserve a ton of credit for that. I didn’t love Sirianni’s game management at the end of the first half but I at least understand his reasoning. The offensive play calling needs to get a tune-up after two weeks. Vic Fangio did a great job adjusting on the fly in this game.
Grade: B-
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