In Week 2 of the NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles will travel to Kansas City for a rematch of Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs. Here are our five things to watch.
1) The Chiefs could be without their top two wide receivers, and Travis Kelce seems to be in decline
The Chiefs’ top two receivers are Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.
Rice had 79 catches for 938 yards and 7 TDs as a rookie in 2023. His 2024 season was off to a great start, as he caught 24 passes for 288 yards and two TDs in the first three games before he injured his LCL and hamstring. He missed the rest of the season, and was the Chiefs’ most notable player to miss the Super Bowl. This offseason, Rice caused a car crash when he was driving like a maniac at 119 MPH, while weaving around traffic (video here). Rice was suspended for the first six games of the season. He won’t play.
Worthy was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2024. In his rookie season, Worthy had 59 catches for 638 yards and 6 TDs as a receiver, and he added 104 yards and 3 TD on rushes. He is perhaps best known for running the fastest 40 time in the history of the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.21. He was also the star of the garbage time portion of Super Bowl LIX against the Eagles’ backups. Worthy reportedly suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Chiefs’ Week 1 loss to the Chargers in Brazil, and is unlikely to play Week 2.
With Rice and Worthy both out, the Chiefs’ top two receivers are Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Brown got 16 targets Week 1, with Rice out and Worthy leaving early. He often seemed to not be on the same page with Patrick Mahomes, as Mahomes passes often went where Brown wasn’t. He also failed to make defenders miss after the catch. Here are his 16 targets, via @NickPenticoff:
Brown finished with 10 catches for 99 yards.
After one of his best seasons in 2022 when he had 78 catches for 933 yards, Smith-Schuster had two unproductive seasons with New England in 2023 (29-260-1) and then back in Kansas City again in 2024 (18-231-2).
The other receiver who got a lot of playing time Week 1 was Tyquan Thornton, another speedster who ran a 4.28 at the 2022 NFL Combine. Thornton was waived by the Patriots during the 2024 season, and spent the rest of the season on the Chiefs’ practice squad. He signed a futures contract in February, and made the 53-man roster out of training camp this year.
In their Week 1 win over the Cowboys, the Eagles struggled covering CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and the Dallas receivers. The commonly toasted corner was Adoree’ Jackson, who Vic Fangio said will likely start again on Sunday. Expect the Chiefs to attack Jackson, though certainly Lamb and Pickens are both better than anyone who will line up at receiver for the Chiefs.
And then there’s Kelce, who is arguably the best receiving tight end in NFL history. Kelce had seven consecutive 1000-yard seasons from 2016 to 2022, but his production dipped in 2023, and then again in 2024. While still a top 5 type of tight end, he is not the ultra-elite player he once was.
In Week 1 against the Chargers, everything the Chiefs tried to do offensively seemed to be a struggle, and far too dependent on Mahomes making Houdini-like plays.
2) The Chiefs don’t exactly have a stellar run game, either
Against the Chargers Week 1, Mahomes dropped back to pass 45 times. He attempted 39 passes, and scrambled six times. Andy Reid only ran it with his running backs 10 times. Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined for those 10 carries for 41 yards.
Their top two backs in 2024 were also Hunt and Pacheco, who combined for 3.7 yards per carry:
| Chiefs RBs | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Kareem Hunt | 200 | 728 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 83 | 310 | 3.7 | 1 |
Hunt and Pecheco combined for two runs of 20+ yards. Pacheco’s lone run of 20+ yards was 34 yards. Hunt’s was 20 yards. They are not game breakers.
The Chiefs’ leading rusher Week 1 was Mahomes, who ran six times for 57 yards and a TD. In recent seasons, Mahomes has taken advantage of his star status by drawing unnecessary roughness penalties near the sidelines. He has a habit of stepping out of bounds just before he’s about to be tackled by an oncoming defender, and then acting like he got shot by a bazooka if the defender so much as breathes on him.
Against the Chargers, CB Donte Jackson conceded that Mahomes was going to step out of bounds and pulled up from hitting him. Knowing full-well that Jackson’s guard was down, Mahomes threw a shoulder into him, and knocked Jackson to the ground.
That is a punk-ass cheap shot, in my opinion.
So, Eagles defenders have to be smart when Mahomes is near the sidelines. On the one hand, they must be conscious that Mahomes is master at baiting officials into throwing flags for weak penalties. On the other hand, if they have a chance light him up legally, they absolutely should.
During his Tuesday press conference, Vic Fangio got asked about Mahomes’ sideline chicanery:
Question: “I’m curious if you saw the Chiefs-Chargers game where Patrick Mahomes was running towards the sideline, the corner kind of conceded, ‘Okay, he can go out of bounds,’ and then Mahomes ran him over. Then other times, you see Mahomes near the sideline, gets hit very lightly, acts like he got shot. So, what’s the teaching point there in terms of him riding the sideline like that?”
Fangio: “Always be aware when you’re near the sideline for all those points you just brought up. One, the quarterback flopping going out of bounds. Two, the quarterback lowering his shoulder and tries to get the last piece of business in there. You have to play with good bent knees and be ready for anything that happens. But Mahomes is the ultimate competitor and it doesn’t surprise me to see him do that.”
I love that Fangio basically acknowledged that Mahomes is a flopper. But I suppose my takeaway here is also that the Eagles seem to have a plan for his nonsense.
3) Where might the Eagles go #Feastin’?
In Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs’ offensive line looked like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Joe Thuney | Mike Caliendo | Creed Humphrey | Trey Smith | Jawaan Taylor |
Humphrey and Smith are both very good at C and RG, respectively. They spent much of the Super Bowl double-teaming Jalen Carter.
The other three spots were major problems. Over the course of the 2024 season the Chiefs tried a few different guys at LT, like Wanya Morris, rookie Kingsley Suamataia, and D.J. Humphries, who they signed in-season. None of them played well, so the Chiefs moved LG Joe Thuney out to LT. Thuney’s move to LT opened up a hole at LG, where 2022 UDFA Mike Caliendo filled in. Major downgrade. Meanwhile, at RT Taylor finished second in the NFL in 2024 with 18 penalties.
With Humphrey and Smith occupied by Carter, the rest of the Eagles’ defensive line annihilated the Chiefs’ three suspect starters, and punished Patrick Mahomes all day.
In Week 1 of 2025, the Chiefs’ offensive line looked like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Josh Simmons (R) | Kingsley Suamataia | Creed Humphrey | Trey Smith | Jawaan Taylor |
Simmons is a rookie coming off of a torn patellar tendon. He had a couple of false starts in his rookie debut, and probably got away with a couple of easy holding calls. He also allowed four pressures, per PFF. He could eventually become a good starting LT, but it’s understandable if he’ll be a work in progress initially.
At LG, the Chiefs traded Thuney to the Bears. Suamataia started at LG Week 1. He mostly played LT in 2024, and as noted above, the Chiefs benched him. He also got some work in at LG in a meaningless Week 18 game. There could be some opportunity for the Eagles to do some damage there on Sunday. Moro Ojomo could have a favorable matchup.
Otherwise, the rest of the Chiefs’ line looks the same. Humphrey (C) and Smith (RG) are back, and Andy is still sticking with Taylor at RT.
#FeastinMeter™️: Six turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
4) The Eagles offense should mainly be playing out of 11 personnel
In the Super Bowl, the Chiefs defense sold out to take away Saquon Barkley, daring Jalen Hurts to beat them through the air. They were successful in limiting Barkley’s effectiveness as a runner, but Hurts tore them apart through the air.
My guess? Spagnuolo will roll out a similar gameplan and once again take his chances with Hurts over Barkley.
In Week 1, Barkley ran 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 YPC) and a TD. Oddly, the Eagles didn’t often run out of 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR), which has always been their strength. Instead, they mainly ran out of 12 and 13 personnel (two- and three-TE sets). Those runs didn’t work, as noted by Shane Haff:
Saquon Barkley had 14 carries for 30 yards out of 12 or 13 personnel, including a 16 yard misdirection toss. That basically means he had 13 carries for 14 yards when trying to run behind heavy personnel. He had only 4 carries from 11 personnel, gaining 30 yards.
The Chiefs’ starting linebackers are Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill. Their third linebacker is Leo Chenal, a good downhill run stopper. Putting an extra TE on the field is only going to get Chenal on the field more, putting the Chiefs in a better position to stop the run.
But also, the Chiefs have some concern areas in their secondary. Defensive back Chamarri Conner plays safety in the Chiefs’ base defense. When the Chiefs are in nickel, Conner plays in the slot, and Jaden Hicks plays safety. Hicks got beaten for two TDs against the Chargers Week 1. He’s No. 21:
Hicks replaced Justin Reid, who left for New Orleans in free agency.
With Jahan Dotson looking like a quality WR3 throughout camp and in the first game of the season, the Eagles should be living in 11 personnel.
5) The Eagles need to get A.J. Brown involved early
Brown didn’t get his first target until there were under two minutes to play against the Cowboys. If he is still hampered by the hamstring injury that kept him out for almost all of training camp, then he probably shouldn’t be playing until he’s healthy. If he’s healthy enough to play, the Eagles need to manufacture some touches for Brown, (a) to keep him happy, (b) to get him involved, (c) to get the Chiefs defense to shift their attention his way, and (d) because he’s really good!
BONUS: We should probably mention elite DT Chris Jones here as well
Jones will be a tough early-season challenge for new starting RG Tyler Steen, and Landon Dickerson’s health will be a concern, until it’s not. Jones likes to roam around and pick his favorite matchup along the offensive line. If Dickerson has to exit the game at any point, the Eagles absolutely cannot allow Jones to get any one-on-one reps against backup Brett Toth.
Spoiler: That will not go well for the Eagles.
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