Tim McManusESPN staff writer4 minute reading
Aikman: Eagles road win over Chiefs is huge
Troy Aikman reacts to the Eagles’ huge win over the Chiefs on Monday night and what it means for them as their schedule rolls on.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce got his first professional win against brother Travis Kelce and his old coach Andy Reid, but he and some of his teammates left Arrowhead Stadium feeling less than satisfied after a 21-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl LVII rematch on Monday night.
“Listen, I’m really happy,” Jason Kelce said. “I probably would have been happier if we would have put together a really dominant performance offensively and played great. I think the fact that we didn’t make it a little more bittersweet. I think the defense is very much the reason we won the game today. Hats off to those guys and I’m certainly happy to be 9-1.”
With the wind and rain a steady presence throughout the night, neither offense fared particularly well. Jalen Hurts threw for 150 yards and an interception and was sacked five times, while Patrick Mahomes went for 177 yards with two touchdowns and a pick.
Hurts breathed life into Philly’s passing game midway through the fourth quarter when he hit DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard completion down the right sideline, setting up a Hurts rushing score — his second of the night — to put the Eagles ahead for good.
“I don’t think we played clean tonight. I don’t think we played up to our standard — nowhere near our standard,” Hurts said. “But I think what you can’t test or quantify is the resilience a team has, the ability to persevere and see things through and overcome things, and this team has that.
“When you win games the way we’ve won games, it builds a ton of character. We’re obviously in character development mode with the games we’ve played and how we’ve won. That can only serve us for great things in the future.”
The Chiefs, meanwhile, were held scoreless in the second half for the third straight game. They average 5.3 points in the league per match in the second half.
Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling could have punted on the Chiefs’ final possession, but he dropped a perfectly placed pass inside the Eagles’ 5. It was the biggest of four drops by the Chiefs in the fourth quarter.
Chiefs wide receivers are dropping 9% of passes thrown this season, the highest percentage through a team’s first 10 games in the past 10 seasons.
“Guys that I’ve seen catch before didn’t necessarily make the catch,” Reid said. “These are good players and we are OK. We just have to get it straight.”
Mahomes dropped a touchdown pass in a similar fashion in a Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos when wide receiver Skyy Moore dropped a deep pass in the end zone.
“They know I’m going to keep firing it,” Mahomes said. “That’s just who I am. I’ll fire it to the guy that’s open, and usually they’re going to make plays.
“Offensively, we’re just not where I want to be at this point in the season, and everybody is. It starts with me.”
Still, the Chiefs (7-3) are tied for the fewest losses in the AFC, while the Eagles own the best record in football. There’s still a chance they’ll clash again in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
“Those guys are going to be right there hunting, just like we are, so we’ll see how it shakes out,” Kelce said. “Maybe it will be something similar in February.”
ESPN’s Adam Teicher contributed to this report.