Preview for Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs
Seven months on from their blowout victory in Super Bowl 59, the Philadelphia Eagles renew acquaintances with the Kansas City Chiefs in a mouthwatering encounter at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Eagles avenged their Super Bowl 57 loss to the Chiefs in style back in February, ending Kansas City’s hopes of a three-peat with an emphatic 40-22 victory in New Orleans.
A rematch will serve as an early test of the championship credentials of both teams, the Eagles having defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, while the Chiefs fell to a 27-21 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.
Mahomes was sacked twice in that defeat, a marked improvement from the Super Bowl, which saw him suffer six sacks at the hands of a ferocious Eagles defensive front.
Yet the offensive improvements the Chiefs hope to make in 2025 were not apparent in Week 1 and, with star defensive tackle Jalen Carter avoiding any further suspension for his conduct against the Cowboys, the Eagles will be confident of disrupting Mahomes once again.
Carter was ejected before a ball was snapped in the Eagles’ season opener for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The NFL deemed that his ejection in essence marked a one-game suspension, but issued him with a fine of $57,222.
The former first-round pick will be keen to make amends and wreck Kansas City’s hopes of bouncing back, and the Eagles will also have a new veteran presence on the defensive line after they signed Za’Darius Smith last Friday.
Philadelphia’s deep defensive front will face an offensive line that was reworked in the wake of Kansas City’s Super Bowl demolition, with Kingsley Suamataia moving to left guard and the Chiefs drafting Josh Simmons to play left tackle.
That side of the O-Line held up relatively well against the Chargers, but there is concern for Kansas City at the skill positions, with speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy a doubt with a shoulder injury. Rookie wideout Jalen Royals is again set to miss out with a knee injury.
The Chiefs’ issues at wide receiver leave Mahomes facing an ominous challenge in picking apart a defense that confounded him on the biggest stage last season. There’s already plenty of reason to doubt the Chiefs, but it would be foolish to completely write off Mahomes in this one.
