Kansas City Chiefs
@
Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday, September 19, 7:25 CDT
at
Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Television coverage:
NFL Network
Watch online:
Kansas City Chiefs
@
Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday, September 19, 7:25 CDT
at
Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Television coverage:
NFL Network
Watch online:
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
Weather forecast: 76 degrees, Clear
Line: Chiefs -3, Over/Under: 50.5
Notable Quotables:
Chiefs:
"You can't spend all day in a seven-step drop mode in the NFL. Being able to nickel and dime at times is good. If you're going to play fast, you need to be efficient. Sometimes you may have to sacrifice your vertical game here and there to stay efficient on the field and keep your defense on the sideline." -- Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson.
Eagles:
"I talked to Andy when I got the job and he said to be yourself. I told him I had big shoes to fill, and he said you'll do a good job, and that was it." - Chip Kelly on any advice he got from his predecessor, Andy Reid.
Game Preview from ESPN.com
Amidst the hype and emotion surrounding Andy Reid's return to Philadelphia this week, the veteran coach is doing his best to focus only on making sure the Kansas City Chiefs remain unbeaten.
Facing the Eagles for the first time since they fired him after 14 years as coach, Reid looks to guide the Chiefs to a 3-0 start Thursday night.
After leading Philadelphia to nine playoff appearances, six NFC East titles, five conference championship games and a Super Bowl berth, it's likely Reid will be consumed by plenty of emotions when he sets foot on Lincoln Financial Field. However, at least publicly, Reid is more concerned with preparing his new team on a short week to face an Eagles squad that has scored 63 points while starting 1-1.
"In this business you're focused in on getting your team ready to play," Reid told the Chiefs' official website. "That's where my energy is going to go. I haven't really thought about that other part at all. I don't necessarily plan on thinking about that. I want to make sure I concentrate on the game at hand and anything else becomes a distraction and I'm not going to let that happen.
"Every coach tells you these Thursday nights, it's a quick turnaround, and you just have to go. It's something you have to do. You buckle down and make sure you get it done."
After falling 33-30 at home to San Diego on Sunday, the Eagles are also sticking to the company line of focusing on the game and not Reid's return, which comes on the same night former quarterback Donovan McNabb's No. 5 jersey will be retired.
"It's just another football game," said Philadelphia's Michael Vick, who has thrown for 631 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions while posting the NFL's third-highest passer rating at 119.0. "We have to get ready, we can't focus on the whole dynamic of the situation. We have a football game to prepare for, and we have to do everything to ensure that we have a chance to win the football game. That is what is most important. It's our third game in 11 days, but we're conditioned for it.
"We're ready for it."
Vick and his teammates understand that these are not the same Chiefs who went 2-14 in 2012.
"Most of these guys are from last year and the taste we had in our mouths last year, nobody ever wants to feel that again," Kansas City defensive tackle Dontari Poe said. "Everybody's focused. Everybody is working hard and making sure that don't happen."
Kansas City, which last started 3-0 in 2010, trailed Dallas by six in the third quarter Sunday before Alex Smith hit Dwayne Bowe with a go-ahead 12-yard TD in a 17-16 victory.
Smith has thrown four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Defensively, the Chiefs have allowed one touchdown and recorded nine sacks, but they face a daunting task this week.
Under Reid's replacement Chip Kelly, Philadelphia's fast-paced, no-huddle offense has totaled 954 yards and seven touchdowns. LeSean McCoy has rushed for 237 yards on 42 carries and gained 119 on six receptions.
A rib injury limited receiver DeSean Jackson to 45 receptions, 700 yards and two TDs in 11 games in 2012, but he's caught 16 balls for 297 and matched that touchdown total this year.
"We've studied them a lot in the offseason," Kansas City defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. "We've been grinding since (Sunday) night. I don't think the problem will be seeing it, the problem will be getting the plan in and executing it."
Some questionable clock management late in Philadelphia's loss Sunday proved Kelly is learning on the job.
His offense continued running the hurry-up on their tying drive late in the fourth quarter that featured three straight incomplete passes taking up 14 seconds. After Alex Henery's 32-yard field goal tied it at 30, Philip Rivers had plenty of time to march the Chargers 51 yards to set up Nick Novak's go-ahead 46-yarder with 7 seconds remaining.
"Could we have (run more of a ball-controlled offense)? Sure," Kelly said. "But we wouldn't have scored a lot of points. So you're in a Catch 22. We were behind, so you've got to try to score to get back into the game, and you can play that game and say, `Hey, let's work the clock here a little bit.' But if you start handcuffing our offense, then we may not have scored enough points to make it even a tied game, so now you're playing the other way."
Philadelphia has won three straight against Kansas City, most recently 34-14 at home in 2009. Jackson caught six passes for 149 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown from Kevin Kolb. Tight end Brent Celek had eight for 104 yards with a score and McCoy rushed for 84 and a TD.
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
local media here in KC starts coverage at 4 pm today
I'm VERY nervous about this game. I hate it that Vegas has us as the favorite. Whether it is true or not, it always seems to me as if we don't do well when we are favored.
I'm also worried about our offense. They have only scored 38 points (21 against the Jags) for an average of 19 points per game and last week they had several opportunities with drives starting near mid field when they came away with nothing other than pinning the cowgirls deep. I have a hard time seeing us beating Philthy with somewhere between 19 and 24 points. It seems to me that we are going to need at least 28 points to win this game. I think we especially need to get JC and DB more involved in the offense. We need a big running night from JC.
Last week our O-line had a rough time handling the cowgirls pass rushing. Smith was sacked 4 times and forced to run the ball himself quite a bit. I think we are going to need much better O-line play this week if we are going to have a chance to win this game.
Our Defense has been hell-for-stout this year but I don't have any sort of gut feeling if we can shut down Philthy's fast-paced no huddle offense. Philthy has scored 63 points (31.5 points per game) and I don't like our chances if they score more than 23.
Keys to the game as I see it....
1) Getting Smith into the Red Zone. If we get him there 5 times, we should win this game.
2) Our defense needs to play their best game yet this year. A +2 turnover rate would go a long way towards victory tonight. I think they need to hold Philthy to 24 points or less for us to win.
3) Special teams need to step up to the plate tonight. We are going to need a couple of momentum changers from them.
Actually the latest lines have the Chiefs listed as 3 to 3.5 point underdogs. I may have misread it when I was setting up the thread. Does that make you feel better about the game.
You make a good point, but Dallas has a much better defense than the Eagles do and we didn't need to score to beat the Jaguars. Philly is giving up 30 points per game. They are ranked 30th in yards allowed and 31 in passing yards allowed. It should be easy to move the ball against them and if we have long sustained drives we keep their dangerous offense off the field.
I don't see the Eagles putting the same kind of pressure on our o-line that Dallas did. I'm sure they will try, but they don't have the talent. Hopefully our young o-line will continue to get better each week. I expect to see continued improvement tonight.
There is no telling what will happen, but the Eagles haven't faced a defense like ours yet. If the Chiefs stay disciplined and can get pressure on Vick, without letting him escape the pocket, I think we can get the Eagles offense off the field. I hope so anyway.
Agreed. I think the Chiefs will score almost every time they get the ball and if they can just stop the Eagles two or 3 times, I think we can win this game. I see our defense slowing down Philly's fast paced offense and playing especially well in the red zone, limiting the Eagles to field goals on a couple of occasions. A turnover or two (in our favor) will probably be the difference in this game.
My prediction:
Chiefs 24
Eagles 20
Last edited by TopekaRoy; 09-19-2013 at 11:32 AM.
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
Doing really good today. Our 3rd Down conversions could be better, but our Punt unit is flawless this year. I'm listening on 101 The Fox. We are doing much better this year!
Good job, Avery.
Chiefs Stats Leaders:
Offense:
Passing:
Alex Smith
42-70 for 396 yds, 4 tds, 0 ints, QBR---94.7
Receiving:
Dwayne Bowe
8 rec, 86 yds, 1 td
Rushing:
Jamaal Charles
32 carries for 132 yds, (4.1 ypc) 1 td
Defense:
Tackles:
Brandon Flowers
14 tackles (14 solo), 1 int
Sacks:
Dontari Poe
3.5 Sacks
Interceptions
Tamba Hali
1 int, 1 td
and
Brandon Flowers
1 int
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
Eagles Stats Leaders:
Offense:
Passing:
Michael Vick
38-61 for 631 yds, 4 tds, 0 int, QBR---119.0
Recieving:
LeSean Jackson
16 catches for 297 yds, 2 tds
Rushing:
LeSean McCoy
42 carries for 237 yds (5.6 ypc), 1 td
Defense:
Tackles:
Myckal Kendrics
18 tackles (12 solo), 1 sack
Sacks:
DeMarco Ryans, Connor Barwin, Cary Williams, Fletcher Cox
tied with 1 sack each
Interceptions:
Brandon Boykin and Cary Williams
tied with 1 int each
Last edited by TopekaRoy; 09-19-2013 at 02:20 AM.
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
Bookmarks