Chiefs @ Eagles
Final Score: Chiefs 42, Eagles 30
Writer: Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware on Twitter)
Andy Reid’s return to Philadelphia was a homecoming to remember for the longtime Eagles head coach, who became the first head coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two separate teams. Both offenses were sharp out of the gate, with the Eagles taking a 10-7 lead towards the end of the first quarter thanks to a three-yard Dallas Goedert touchdown grab. The Eagles were unable to keep pace with the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs offense as the game progressed, despite a Kenny Gainwell touchdown run that brought the Eagles within five points with 12:42 remaining in the game. A pair of subsequent Patrick Mahomes touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill put the game out of reach.
The Chiefs operated at will in key situations, converting 9 of 10 third downs. Not including the last drive that ended in the victory formation, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on six of their seven possessions. Hill had a monster game, hauling in all but one of his 12 targets for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Eagles’ abysmal linebacking play continued; a Chiefs team that has been mediocre at best piled up 160 rushing yards. In fact, the Eagles defense has given up 360 rushing yards over the past two weeks, along with 83 points and 851 total yards.
Ironically, it was the Chiefs who entered Week 4 with the NFL’s worst red zone defense; the unit had coughed up a touchdown in 12 of 13 opponent trips inside the 20-yard line. Enter the Eagles’ red zone offense, which was nearly as bad as their red zone defense. Hurts missed two open receivers in the end zone: Zach Ertz and Greg Ward. The latter may be considered a drop by some, but the throw lacked touch, and the receiver wasn’t well-led.
To be fair, the Eagles’ red zone struggles were exacerbated by an offensive line that was decimated by injuries, with center Jason Kelce as the lone holdover from the original starting offensive line. That said, another unbalanced game plan featuring a pass-heavy approach was not what the doctor ordered for an offense that can’t get well or move the ball with goal-to-go. It was nice to see Gainwell more heavily utilized than ever this week, but Miles Sanders (10 total touches) was once again criminally underutilized, especially in the passing game. Most disturbing of all for Eagles fans: the pathetic plethora of penalties continues at a record pace, and points were taken off the board on multiple occasions because of them.
That's the Eagles' 38th penalty this year. That's the most the Eagles have ever committed in their first four games.
The 1954 team committed 37 through four games.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) October 3, 2021
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 24/30, 278 yards, 5 TD, INT | 5 carries, 26 yards
Patrick Mahomes reminded us all why he’s an MVP-caliber quarterback with an impressive five-touchdown effort, steadying the course for a Chiefs team that stumbled out of the gate to a disappointing (1-2) start this season. Mahomes executed a well-designed game plan, completing passes to seven different receivers, three of whom reeled in at least one touchdown. Mahomes, who was sacked only once, scrambled outside the pocket a few times to extend drives with his feet when his receivers were well-covered downfield.
Two of Mahomes’ touchdown passes were of the shovel pass variety near the goal line. Clyde-Edwards Helaire took one in from a yard out in the first quarter, and Tony Fortson took back the lead for good on a two-yard scoot with less than a minute remaining in the half. Mahomes’ three other touchdown passes all found their way into Tyreek Hill’s hands. All in all, it was a masterful performance by the future Hall of Famer. Some may say such accolades are premature, but we disagree:
Already having the most going into Sunday afternoon, @Chiefs superstar QB Patrick Mahomes extended his lead on this list as he tossed 5 touchdowns and led his team to a 42-30 win over the Eagles. With that, he now owns a whopping 17 more passing TD than anyone else here pic.twitter.com/yTlekbwK25
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) October 4, 2021
Running Backs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 14 carries, 102 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards, TD
Darrel Williams: 10 carries, 42 yards, TD | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Michael Burton: 1 carry, 5 yards
A couple of weeks ago, many fantasy football analysts and frustrated team managers were ready to declare Edwards-Helaire a “bust” after a slow start. He responded with his second consecutive 100-yard rushing effort, gashing the Eagles and picking right up where Ezekiel Elliott left off last Monday night. Edwards-Helaire didn’t convert on the ground inside the goal line, but backfield mate Darrel Williams did.
While “CEH” remains the fantasy running back to roster from this high-powered offense, Williams confirmed that while he doesn’t own exclusive rights to handle valuable goal line carries, he’s the Chiefs’ most effective option on the ground in short yardage and goal-to-go situations. With the dearth of healthy, productive running backs across the fantasy football landscape in mind, Williams demonstrated that he can command 10-12 touches in a positive game script for a potent offense, and as such, no longer belongs on waiver wires in 12 team standard leagues.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Tyreek Hill: 12 targets, 11 receptions, 186 yards, 3 TD
Travis Kelce: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 23 yards
Byron Pringle: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
Mecole Hardman: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards | 2 carries, 7 yards
Jody Fortson: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards, TD
Noah Gray: 1 target, 0 receptions
If Patrick Mahomes doesn’t win Week 4 AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the honor should go to Tyreek Hill, who put up video game numbers against a secondary featuring Darius Slay and Steven Nelson. Hill ended the day with three touchdown receptions, and he narrowly missed a fourth when pushed out of bounds by Steven Nelson at the one-yard line after a beautiful catch-and-run early in the game.
The Eagles managed to keep Travis Kelce in check, but they had no answer for Hill, who flat-out dominated the game. Demarcus Robinson surprisingly wasn’t targeted, while Byron Pringle turned both of his targets into 23 yards. Outside of a chunk play on an end-around, Mecole Hardman was a relative non-factor. Reserve tight ends Jody Fortson and Noah Gray were each targeted once inside the red zone, with Fortson turning his into six points.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 32/48, 387 yards, 2 TD | 8 carries, 47 yards
Jalen Hurts made a couple of throws he’d like to have back, but he enjoyed a very solid day through the air, despite once again struggling with deep-ball accuracy. He added nearly 50 rushing yards, and didn’t turn the ball over. While it benefits his fantasy football managers when he’s forced to throw 48 passes, however, it’s unfortunate that the Eagles have yet to realize that game plans that continue to eschew game-breaking threat Miles Sanders won’t yield many actual, real-life wins.
Patrick Mahomes in his prime on the other sideline makes an unfair measuring stick for a second-year quarterback making just his eighth career start, but Hurts held his own, all things considered. Bouncing back well from a shaky prime-time outing against the Dallas Cowboys, Hurts connected with eight different receivers, spreading the ball around well enough to keep the defense honest. However, the Chiefs were without two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Frank Clark, and still managed to notch three sacks. The Eagles’ patchwork offensive line is a concern going forward, especially against teams with more formidable front sevens.
Running Backs
Kenny Gainwell: 3 carries, 31 yards, TD | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 58 yards
Miles Sanders: 7 carries, 13 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards
After averaging 14 carries per game over the first two weeks, Miles Sanders has carried the ball a total of 10 times in the two games since. Sanders is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, as evidenced by multiple 70+ yard runs in each of his two most recent seasons. The inexplicable lack of utilization of such a home run threat in an offense starving for big plays has been painful for Eagles fans to watch. Sanders, arguably the most proven playmaking threat on the roster, simply deserves more volume. His 18-yard reception with 6 minutes and change remaining brought the Eagles to midfield, giving the team a chance to get back in the game. Unfortunately, the touchdown he helped set up three plays later was called back due to illegal touching by DeVonta Smith, one of three Eagles touchdowns called back due to penalties yesterday.
Rookie Kenny Gainwell was a bright spot for the Eagles, scoring a key fourth-quarter touchdown that made it a one-score game with plenty of time left. The slippery Memphis product doesn’t shed contact all that well, but has impressed as a receiver, and continues to make defenders miss. All told, Eagles running backs racked up 90 yards and a touchdown on 15 touches in a negative game script, but the puzzling ways in which they continue to be utilized in this offense should remain a concern for fantasy football managers going forward.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
DeVonta Smith: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 122 yards
Zach Ertz: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 60 yards
Dallas Goedert: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 56 yards, TD
Quez Watkins: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 33 yards
Greg Ward: 2 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards, TD
Jalen Reagor: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards | 1 carry, 12 yards
Had DeVonta Smith managed to stay in bounds on the aforementioned retracted touchdown, he would’ve finished with a 8-156-1 line that would have everyone buzzing about the 2021 first-round pick. As things stand, Smith’s start is still impressive: he became the first Eagles rookie to post a 100-yard receiving game since Jordan Matthews in 2014. Per Reuben Frank, the only wide receiver in Eagles history with more receptions in his first four games is DeSean Jackson:
Most catches by Eagles in first four career games
22 … DeSean [2008]
21 … Keith Jackson [1988]
18 … DeVonta Smith [2021]
16 … Charle Young [1973]
15 … Jordan Matthews [2014]
13 … Kenny Gainwell [2021]
13 … Lee Bouggess [1970]— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) October 4, 2021
Smith is clearly the real deal, and a welcome breath of fresh air for a franchise that was forced to miscast former practice squad player Greg Ward as a WR1 in recent years. Incidentally, Ward is still with the team, and was targeted twice yesterday, both in the end zone. One was hauled in for a late garbage touchdown to bring the Eagles to the 30-point mark.
Quez Watkins saw 7 targets, but failed to make the most of them; the impressive second-year player came up limping, but played through his apparent injury, appearing in special teams immediately afterwards. The fact that Watkins saw six more targets than last year’s first round draft pick Jalen Reagor might be an overdue acknowledgement by the coaching staff of how exponentially better the former has fared in both practices and games since the end of last season. Although he didn’t show up in the box score, former second-round pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside found himself in the spotlight on Sunday. Famously drafted ahead of D.K. Metcalf, “J-JAW” was flagged for offensive pass interference on a play that negated a Zach Ertz touchdown.
One final silver lining: the Eagles finally managed to get both tight ends involved in the game plan. Ertz hauled in six of eight targets for 60 yards, and was robbed of the aforementioned touchdown. Meanwhile, Dallas Goedert caught all five of his targets, compiling 56 yards and notching the game’s first touchdown. It was encouraging for fantasy football managers of each to see that it’s possible for each to offer meaningful, albeit limited contributions, even if both are healthy.
— Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware on Twitter)