Measure Up

by Marc Narducci | Sep 10, 2025

Eagles fans were likely rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs to open with a win because the theory goes that an opening season loss would make the Chiefs a desperate team leading into Sunday’s 4:25 p.m. (ET) Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Eagles fans didn’t get their wish. Kansas City, while looking better than it did during a 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, still fell to the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-21 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It may not matter whether the Chiefs are desperate or not. KC simply isn’t as talented as it has been in the past.

That doesn't mean that the Chiefs can’t beat the Eagles.

Certainly they can, and they are a slight favorite in the game.

Yet this is far from the juggernaut that barely beat the Eagles, 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII.

It is closer to the team that got blown out by the Eagles in this past Super Bowl, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the 18-point final margin might indicate.

Last year the Chiefs went 11-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer during the regular season and 1-0 in the playoffs.

This year the Chiefs are already 0-1 in that category.

The Chiefs used to be a measuring stick for the Eagles. Now it appears to be the opposite.

Whether the Eagles win or lose in Arrowhead Stadium, they will be a major Super Bowl contender.

Can the same be said if the Chiefs lose and begin the season 0-2?

While the Eagles were far less than dominant in their opening 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys, at least they got the W.

The turning point had to be when Zack Baun ran down former Eagles running back Miles Sanders and tackled him at the Philadelphia 11-yard line. When Sanders lost a fumble five plays later in the same series, just past the midway point of the third quarter, the play by Baun became even more important. He saved seven potential points.

The Eagles won despite Saquon Barkley being held to 60 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.3 avg.).

They had a total of four receptions for 24 yards from their dynamic receiving tandem of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Jalen Carter didn’t play after getting tossed before the first play from scrimmage for spitting at Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.

So despite all that, the Eagles won.

Now if they don’t pick up their game against KC, they will lose, but the Eagles showed in Week No. 1 that they don’t have to be at their best to win.

The chance of Barkley, Brown, Smith all having a second straight subpar game, doesn’t seem very likely.

And that brings us to the Chiefs.

In just the first game, their outstanding defensive lineman Chris Jones, was already barking at his teammates. Maybe Jones should have been yelling at himself. He ended with just two tackles and no sacks.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who doesn’t have nearly the supporting cast as the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, had a solid opener. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also rushed for 57 yards and a TD on six carries.

The problem is that he has to be Superman almost every game because his supporting cast doesn’t measure up to the Chiefs team that won three Super Bowls under Mahomes.

Hurts on the other hand, has so many big playmakers that he doesn’t have to do as much as Mahomes does.

That doesn’t mean Hurts can’t come up with big performances. Just look at this past Super Bowl when he was the MVP. He actually played great (minus one fumble) in the losing Super Bowl game to the Chiefs.

Hurts plays big in the biggest game. This by far is a big game, but the Eagles are no longer defined by how they play against certain teams.

The opposite is the case. The Eagles are now the measuring stick.

Photo: Courtesy Eagles X/Twitter

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Measure Up

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