Statement Made in Arrowhead, Questions Raised Everywhere Else | 4 Downs

The defending champs and Detroit dominate on a Sunday where injuries and comebacks ruled the day

A rivalry born on Bourbon Street was renewed in the BBQ capital of the world on Sunday.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who stifled and stymied Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense in the Super Bowl without calling a single blitz back in February, turned up the heat on the three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the rematch in Arrowhead.

Fangio was simply relentless.

The Eagles blitzed Mahomes 11 times (28.9 percent of his dropbacks) in Week 2, according to NextGenStats.

Fangio’s pressure resulted in just one sack and four quarterback hits, but the impact on the Chiefs’ offensive rhythm was significant.

While Philadelphia didn’t have the Vince Lombardi trophy aboard the charter flight Sunday night, the Eagles followed a familiar blueprint, leveraging a constant barrage of pressure on defense to fly home with a 20-17 statement victory to improve to 2-0.

“Fangio threw the kitchen sink at Mahomes,” former Eagles linebacker Garry Cobb tells me. “With a variety of blitzes. He sent linebackers and safeties to keep pressure on Mahomes, and keep him guessing.

“This lets the rest of the league know that Fangio is willing to do whatever it takes to keep you guessing, and he can beat you in a variety of ways. You can let the rest of the league know that this defense will get much better as the season continues.”

This was a title fight, where scoring plays were few and further between for much of the first three quarters. Then, Fangio and the Eagles’ defense imposed its will as Philadelphia fell back on its familiar brand of dominant complementary football.

With 12:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Chiefs trailing 13-10, Mahomes fired a pass to Travis Kelce along the goal line only to have it bounce off the All-Pro tight end’s hands and into Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba’s, before the rookie sprinted down the sideline for a 41-yard return that tilted the scales further in the Eagles’ favor.

That’s when things started to look very familiar.

On 3rd and 10 from the 31-yard line, Spagnuolo sent the house on a blitz at Hurts, and the Super Bowl MVP heaved the ball deep downfield to DeVonta Smith on a 28-yard completion to the Chiefs’ three-yard line that broke the Kansas City defense’s back.

“When you talk about situational football,” Hurts said on the FOX postgame show. “We go back to two years ago, we scored a touchdown on the same check, same side of the field, when we were here on a Monday night.

“It was something we were preaching during the game; we were seeking the big-play instead of letting it come to us. At halftime, that’s exactly what I was telling our guys, ‘Just let it come to us, and play the game ourselves,’ and we saw something come up that had presented to us in the past, and it was a big play of the game.”

Three plays later, Eagles tight end Grant Calcatera shoved Hurts into the end zone on fourth-and-goal tush-push from the six-inch line to push the Eagles’ lead to 20-10 as Arrowhead fell into a state of stunned silence.

Hurts’ stat line will likely trigger agita across the Delaware Valley, as the Super Bowl MVP passed for just 101 yards while rushing for only 15 and a tush-push score.

But, Hurts and the Eagles have won two straight against the Chiefs in games between two teams seemingly heading in different directions.

For the first time in Mahomes’ career, he’s now lost three consecutive games, the latest being a Philadelphia victory that embodies how general manager Howie Roseman has positioned the defending champions to sustain a dynasty run.

“They are a well-balanced team,” an NFL Scouting Director tells me, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. “Also balanced with vets and youth. The key to building winning teams is to have balance and star-level players in their prime years. And they do.

“Howie has done a really nice job there. His approach of going for the best player available in the draft keeps paying off, because good teams lose quality players in free agency all the time. He just replaces them with rookie contracts.”

Not only did the Eagles’ offensive line do a masterful job keeping Hurts upright against Spagnuolo’s exotic rush concepts, allowing just one sack and three quarterback hits, but Saquon Barkley rushed for 88 yards and a score as Philadelphia rushed for 122 rushing yards.

In the Mahomes-Reid era, the Chiefs have been among the most consistently prolific offenses in the sport, but on Sunday, they were held to 4-of-12 on third down, and out of the end zone on Kansas City’s lone goal-to-go situation of the game.

The Chiefs’ struggles weren’t lost on rival evaluators Sunday night.

“They have no one who can stretch the field vertically, especially with Xavier Worthy out,” a rival AFC Scout told me after the game. “Until that gets fixed, their offense is going to look like it does.

“They also haven’t addressed their lack of a running game.”

MahomesMagic, though, would not go down without a fight.

After missing a wide-open Tyquan Thornton on second down with the Chiefs’ chances hanging in the balance on the overthrow after the Kansas City receiver broke open behind the Eagles’ secondary, Mahomes drilled him for a 49-yard touchdown against cornerback Quinyon Mitchell to pull within a field goal with 3:00 remaining.

A.J. Brown recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the Eagles converted a tush-push first down to bleed out the clock, not only to win the game but to raise questions about where the Chiefs go from here.

Philadelphia proved its title defense has staying power. Kansas City learned Mahomes’ magic can’t cover every crack.

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First Down: Hemi-Powered Lions Scream Back into NFC North Race

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dan Campbell’s Lions have leaned into a hypercompetitive culture since his arrival five years ago, but Sunday, the explosiveness of Detroit’s offense ruled the day.

With former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on the visiting sideline, inside a thunderous Ford Field as head coach of the Chicago Bears, quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown played angrily, violently, almost like they were trying to send a message.

That message, that reports of the demise of these Lions after Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers have exerted their dominance over the past two weeks, aren’t just premature, but wins like Sunday could be a preamble of things to come.

Detroit’s opening drive embodied everything that has made the Lions so successful during the Dan Campbell era.

It started with a Jared Goff 34-yard strike to St. Brown, hitting the elite and rising receiver in stride. Tight end Sam LaPorta found a seam for a nine-yard gain on the Bears’ secondary, and Jahmyr Gibbs toted the rock three times for 17 yards, including a six-yard walk-in touchdown.

Opening salvo fired.

Goff and St. Brown combined for 115 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions’ veteran quarterback surgically picked apart the Bears’ defense for 334 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-21 victory.

“Those guys are our dudes, man,” Campbell told reporters after the game. “Just get out of their way, sometimes, and let them go.

“We’re fortunate here, man. We’ve got a stud at quarterback, who can handle a ton of information, a ton of information, can get us in the right play, he’s pinpoint accurate, and he’s got weapons. We find our rhythm, we get the first, first down, and good things normally happen.”