The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time in their last three matchups. As a result, quarterback Patrick Mahomes has now lost three straight games for the first time in his career.

Another consequence of Sunday’s 20-17 loss, the Chiefs have started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2014, which is also the last season that they missed the playoffs. While this loss was certainly a step up from their 40-22 loss in the Super Bowl, especially on the defensive side, it still results in a bitter feeling for the Chiefs’ faithful. The game could easily be described as one that got away from the Chiefs when they really should have won the game.

1st half

Kansas City’s first mistake showed up rather quickly. After the game began with three straight punts, kicker Harrison Butker badly missed a 58-yard field goal, three points that would prove to matter later on. After the Eagles went down the field for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, the Mahomes-led offense flashed why they should still be feared, going on a 10-0 run to take the lead late in the first half. The Eagles would tie things up at the buzzer, but it was still a rather promising half by the Chiefs.

There was some reason to worry, however, as Mahomes had to put on his cape to even keep things notched up, rushing for a total of 60 yards and a touchdown on five carries to lead the ground game through one half. One of those runs saw Mahomes pick up a crucial first down on third-and-6 by trucking a defender off of him. A fiery play for sure, but also a dangerous one that puts the franchise-defining star in harm’s way for a potential injury.

2nd half

The third quarter saw the offense run just seven plays over its first two drives and turn the ball over on downs on its first drive of the half. This resulted in a free field goal for Philadelphia, another crucial three points going against the Chiefs. Thankfully for Kansas City, the turnover resulted in only a field goal thanks to the incredible play of the defense.

After such an imperative stop, the offense looked to repay the defense, and eventually, they mounted a drive that lasted from the middle of the third into the fourth quarter.

Kelce’s blunder

The Chiefs drove down inside the 10 to the Philadelphia six with around 13 minutes remaining in regulation before Mahomes seemingly found fellow franchise legend and longtime teammate, tight end Travis Kelce, near the goal line. That is when disaster struck, as the perfectly placed ball bounced right off the tight end’s hands and into the hands of Philadelphia safety 

Andrew Mukuba. Mukuba would return it all the way to the Eagles’ 41-yard line before Kansas City’s rookie offensive tackle, Josh Simmons, saved a touchdown by tracking him down.

The infamous ‘tush push’

The Eagles would go on to score a touchdown and make it a two-possession game, but not without controversy. On 4th and goal, Philadelphia ran their infamous ‘tush push’ play; however, in replay it became clear that the Eagles’ guards were false-starting on the play. Despite the obvious penalty, no flag was thrown. This same kind of early motion was observed on many of Philadelphia’s other numerous attempts at the play, none of which got called.

Comeback attempt

This score left the Chiefs with a 10-point deficit and just around four and a half minutes to play. Kansas City would score on a 49-yard long ball from Mahomes to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton after Mahomes had over fired Thornton earlier in the drive when he was wide open for a 75-yard score. The missed throw cost the Chiefs about a minute, so Kansas City attempted an onside kick that was not converted. The Eagles would run the clock out, while again using their ‘tush push’, and won the Super Bowl rematch 20-17.

Stats

Mahomes ended the game going 16/29 for 187 yards with one touchdown and one pick that resulted from Kelce’s bobble. His somewhat unexpected impact on the game came from his legs when he finished with seven carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.

On the season, Mahomes leads the team in rushing with 13 carries for 123 yards. The next closest rusher, running back Kareem Hunt, with 13 carries for 47 yards. This statistic reveals the immense workload Mahomes has had these first couple of games, and it is a troubling sign for the rest of the season.

Despite his costly drop, Kelce did not have a bad game outside of that play, leading all receivers with 61 yards on four receptions. Thornton was a real bright spot for the team, appearing to be a true deep threat with multiple near connections on deep balls before finally securing a 49-yard touchdown in the final few minutes.

The true star of the day for Kansas City was the entire defense, which held quarterback Jalen Hurts to just 101 yards passing and limited last year’s offensive player of the year, running back Saquon Barkley, to an average of just four yards per carry.

While there were many standouts for the Chiefs’ defensive squad, the very best performers was safety Chamarri Conner and cornerback Jaylen Watson. Not only did they help to keep the Eagles’ receivers to just 101 total receiving yards with their excellent coverage, but they also handled the perimeters by containing Philadelphia’s many flat route plays and, in the process, racked up a combined 18 tackles.

Outlook on the team

As a result of the loss, some newer fans of the Chiefs may be panicking, but die-hard fans who know the true struggle that was the 2000s Chiefs have seen far worse. At the end of the day, 20-17 is a lot better than 40-22, and the Chiefs were essentially two or so plays away from a probable win over the defending Super Bowl champions.

Head coach Andy Reid and his staff have faced worse, and a few adjustments from them and the team could send Kansas City onto another great season. Still, it’s a saddening start to the season, and things don’t get much easier from here. Five of their next eight opponents made the playoffs last season, and wide receiver Rashee Rice still won’t be back until week seven thanks to his suspension. That, paired with second-year receiver Xavier Worthy’s injury, which keeps him questionable to return next week as of now, means that the offense will yet again have to continuously adapt to score points and earn wins.