Eagles-Chiefs Stock Market: When Ugly Is Pretty

The Smithsonian won’t be calling for a copy of the Eagles’ 20-17 win over Kansas City on Sunday.

However, the result of the Super Bowl LIX rematch was as beautiful as ever for Philadelphia (2-0), which has won 18 of 19 games dating back to last season and 16 straight when quarterback Jalen Hurts starts and finishes the game.

Style points were not awarded in a game where the Eagles generated 216 total yards and 94 through the air.

"I hope so,” All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson said when asked if this kind of performance was sustainable. “If it comes down to s@#$ty, ugly football that we're barely winning, I'll take it. 

“Would you like it to be that way? No. You'd like it to be more efficient. But we spend a lot of time working on this game to try to win those things."

THE BULLS:

WINNING: All the numbers were ugly except for the one that mattered in the end: the scoreboard. Since 2022, Hurts is 39-10 as a starter, a gaudy .796 winning percentage, the best in the NFL over that span.

"The game isn't necessarily won off fireworks,” Hurts said. “It's won off scoring more points than the other team. 

“That's what we're able to do."

That common-sense mentality isn’t going to resonate with everyone, but it does in the Eagles’ locker room.

"I think as a team, we showed up when we needed to the most,” said Hurts “And that's the most important thing in this league, is finding ways to win. "

PATIENCE: It’s one thing to struggle; it’s another to struggle and lose. The Eagles aren’t playing great football, but the silver lining to that stipulation is that they are still winning games while figuring it out.

"When you come off the season like we came off last year, I think the expectation is that you're going to pick up right where you left off,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “There's steps to this. There's steps from for all the teams that are playing right now. There's steps to get better. So as you're getting better — our goal is to play our best football by the end of the year — but as you're getting better, find ways to win."

DREW ON THE SPOT: The turning point of the game came with Kansas City threatening to go ahead in the red zone with just over 13 minutes left. 

Patrick Mahomes tried to fit in a pass to Travis Kelce that the two future Hall of Famers typically connect on in their sleep. This time the ball caromed off Kelce and rookie safety Drew Mukuba was “Johnny on the Spot” at the goal line, picking off the football and returning it 41 yards.

Had Kelce caught the football, it’s likely 17-13 Chiefs. Instead, Makuba’s play sparked the Eagles to go on a 10-play, 59-yard drive culminating with a tush push by Hurts that essentially sealed the game. 

Z DEBUT: It didn’t take long for veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith to prove his worth to Vic Fangio, recording a tackle for loss on the second series before teaming with Mukuba to sack Mahomes in the second quarter. 

Smith is the last piece of the puzzle Fangio needs on the edge and will allow second-year player Jalyx Hunt to grow without as much pressure to produce.