Philadelphia Eagles fans have to feel good after their team's 21-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. How the Eagles won is just as impressive as the win in a rematch of last year's Super Bowl.
The Eagles defense shone brightest on this night. After giving up 38 points to Patrick Mahomes and Co. in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia's defense did not give up a point in the second half on Monday night. The defense's success set the stage for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' offense to put together the only two scoring drives in the second half.
Down 17-7 at halftime, Hurts' second touchdown run of the half gave the Eagles their first lead with 6:30 left. The score was set up by Hurts' 41-yard bomb to DeVonta Smith one play earlier.
The Chiefs had a chance to win the game, but came up empty after Marquez Valdez-Scantling dropped a sure touchdown pass from Mahomes with just under two minutes left. Philadelphia's defense then sealed the win by forcing consecutive incompletions from Mahomes, who threw for 177 yards on the night.
Two forced turnovers in the red zone by the Eagles aided them in their comeback. The second one, a Bradley Roby forced fumble of Travis Kelce, prevented the Chiefs from increasing their lead early in the fourth quarter.
We'll have a full breakdown of Monday night's game shortly, but in the meantime, check out our live blog below to re-live the action in real time.
Why the Eagles won
The Eagles defense was lights out in the second half, allowing zero points and just 146 yards as the Chiefs averaged just 3.9 yards per play. Philadelphia forced a Travis Kelce fumble in the red zone and forced Kansas City to punt on four of six possessions in the final 30 minutes. The other two possessions were a fumble and turnover on downs.
The offensive line allowed five sacks in the first half, but none in the second half. The Eagles controlled the trenches in the second half, which allowed them to come back in the cold and rainy conditions for the victory.
Why the Chiefs lost
The Chiefs were shut down in the second half, not scoring a single point in the final 30 minutes after putting up 17 at halftime. Marquez Valdes-Scantling's drop with 1:50 left was massive -- and should have been a touchdown -- but Kansas City had six possessions and came away with nothing.
Mahomes had a red zone interception, Travis Kelce had a red zone fumble, they punted on fourth-and-4 at the Eagles' 39-yard line, and Valdes-Scantling dropped a potential game-winning touchdown. Missed opportunities across the board.
Turning point
Marquez Valdes-Scantling's drop with 1:50 left was the difference in this one. Mahomes threw a beautiful pass deep down the field and Valdez-Scantling had a step and a half on Bradley Roby and should have corralled the easy touchdown, but ended up dropping the pass on second-and-10.
Mahomes had an intentional grounding penalty on the next play, which led to the Eagle stopping the Chiefs on fourth-and-25. Ball game.
Play of the game
Jalen Hurts threw a 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith with the Eagles trailing, 17-14, in the fourth quarter that led to the game-winning touchdown. Hurts hit Smith on a throw deep downfield that got the Eagles to the Chiefs' one-yard line with 6:23 left.
The Eagles scored on the next play on the "tush push" to take the lead for good. Smith finished with six catches for 99 yards in the win.
The quote
"Great game. Good luck the rest of the way man. Do your thing." -- Mahomes to Hurts after the game. Hurts has won 13 straight games against teams with a winning record and seven straight trailing by 10-plus points -- the longest streak in NFL history.
Up next
The Eagles (9-1) host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field while the Chiefs (7-3) travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders (5-6).