KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The goal for the Philadelphia Eagles is to be playing their best at the end of the season.
Like they were in February, when they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
They were far from perfect on Sunday, but they were good enough to beat the Chiefs in the rematch. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley had touchdown runs, and Andrew Mukuba came up with a big fourth-quarter interception of Patrick Mahomes, helping the Eagles to a 20-17 victory that was fueled by Philadelphia’s stingy and opportunistic defense.
“Our job, especially early in the season, is find a way to win. Take pride in winning any way you possibly can. Work to get better throughout the week, and repeat,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I think when you come off a season like we came off last year the expectation is that you’re going to pick up where you left off. There are steps to this.”
The Eagles never seem to stumble over them, either. They’ve won seven straight and improved to 17-1 in their last 18 games, and they have won three in a row against the Chiefs after falling to them in the Super Bowl three seasons ago.
Hurts threw for just 101 yards and Barkley was held to 88 rushing by the Chiefs. But the Eagles in turn held Kansas City to 294 yards, stopped the Chiefs once on fourth down and came away with the only turnover at a pivotal point in the game.
“Take pride in winning, one, and take pride in what is required of you, two,” Hurts said. “The team defensively played lights-out. Offensively we played well when we needed to. And we just need to continue to build.”
Mahomes had just 187 yards passing, once again struggling to find open playmakers without suspended wide receiver Rashee Rice and injured teammate Xavier Worthy. Mahomes did have 66 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but the two-time MVP didn’t get much help from anyone else as the Chiefs fell to 0-2 for the first time since the 2014 season.
That was coach Andy Reid’s second season in Kansas City and the most recent season it failed to make the playoffs.
“I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” Reid said.
Unlike the Super Bowl, when the Eagles raced to a 24-0 halftime lead and added on in the third quarter, the Chiefs came out with some semblance of life on Sunday after a lackluster season-opening loss to the Chargers in Brazil.
Barkley struck first with a 13-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, but Harrison Butker atoned for an earlier miss with a field goal for Kansas City. The Chiefs quickly got the ball back and Mahomes, with a sudden penchant for lowering his shoulder to deliver a blow, did that to a couple of defenders before scrambling 13 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Jake Elliott hit a 58-yard field goal before halftime to tie the game for Philadelphia. He added 51-yarder early in the third, after the Chiefs had eschewed their own tush-push play and gave the ball to Kareem Hunt on fourth-and-1 — and he was promptly stuffed.
It remained 13-10 until the fourth quarter. After Hunt had converted on fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 13 to keep a Kansas City drive alive, Mahomes had a pass bounce off Travis Kelce’s hands at the goal line and into those of Mukuba for a pick.
“I threw it a tad too early,” Mahomes said. “If I could put it on his body, he can catch it, take the hit, and get into the end zone.”
Ten plays and 59 yards later, Hurts scored on a tush push on fourth-and-goal to extend the lead to 20-10.
By the time Mahomes finally connected with Tyquan Thornton on a 49-yard touchdown heave with 3 minutes to go, most of a crowd that began lining up at the parking lot entrances Saturday night was filing for the exits. The Chiefs were unable to get the ensuing onside kick, and Philadelphia ran out the clock on Kansas City’s first home loss since Dec. 25, 2023.
It was the 11th time a Super Bowl rematch has taken place in the regular season. The champion has now won eight of them.
“That’s a really good team. We have a ton of respect for them,” Hurts said. “You have to come in with a sense of focus. Stay patient with yourself. Stay patient with your team. And as a team, we showed up when we needed to the most.”
Philadelphia: DT Jordan Davis limped off in the second half but returned to the game.
Kansas City: DE Mike Danna and CB Kristian Fulton left in the first quarter and did not return.
The Eagles return home and play the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
The Chiefs visit the New York Giants on Sunday night.
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