Thankful for Another Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles Matchup
As we enter the Thanksgiving season, one thing everyone should be thankful for is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII on Monday Night Football. The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Philadelphia Eagles in what is supposed to be one of the best prime-time matchups in the NFL this season.
And Why shouldn’t it be one of the best games we've seen this year? Not only did both teams represent their respective conferences in the Super Bowl last season, but now they lead the AFC and NFC in the race to the top seed through the first 10 weeks of the season. The Chiefs are 7-2 with the best record in the AFC, while the Eagles have an 8-1 record and lead the NFC with the best record in the NFL. Both clubs are coming off a bye and should be well-rested and about as healthy as possible heading into the back half of the season.
Of course, there are many storylines to be followed during this game. There’s the family reunion aspect between Travis and Jason Kelce, the brothers who have taken over not only the NFL but the media world as well. Jason has never beaten Travis in their previous four meetings, and the Chiefs are one of two NFL teams that Jason hasn’t defeated in his career.
Adding to the fun is the blooming love story we have followed since Week 3 of the NFL season between pop star Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Swift has met Kelce’s parents, Donna and Ed, while Travis was seen hanging out with Swift’s dad, Scott, last weekend at a concert in Argentina. There has been speculation that Swift’s parents and Kelce’s parents will meet for the first time before the game on Monday. As we’ve seen over the past few months, America will be on watch as ABC/ESPN will get their first chance to feature the Kelce/Swift story on one of their NFL broadcasts.
To add to the family element of the game, head coach Andy Reid will lead the Chiefs against the franchise he led from 1999-2012. He had great success with the Eagles, including a stretch of hosting three consecutive NFC Championship Games, but could never win a Super Bowl there. From the outside looking in, it seems like Eagles fans and former players still love Reid and root for his success when the two teams aren’t playing each other. All of that goes out the window on Monday.
We are less than a year removed from a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, a game that saw the Chiefs defeat the Eagles 38-35. It was a game where the Eagles jumped out to a first-half lead and then saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company claw their way back to a big second half as they were able to finish off their second Super Bowl win in four years. The Eagles may not have revenge on their minds, but the fan base certainly feels a certain way about this game. In the grand scheme of things, this game may not matter much when it comes to playoff seeding but bragging rights will be on the line.
The Eagles will look to get after Mahomes. They didn’t get one sack in the Super Bowl last year and that was a point of emphasis their defense prides themselves on. The Chiefs’ secondary will look to have a better game this year against Jalen Hurts, who tore them apart in last season's matchup. So far this year, the Chiefs have had one of the best defenses in the NFL. They just held the best offense in the NFL to 14 points before the bye week and now they have another tough test against the Eagles' offense coming up on Monday.
Reid is known for having a lot of success after getting a bye. He’s now 28-4 coming off a bye if you include last year’s Super Bowl win. That’s good news for Chiefs fans who may be feeling a bit of anxiety with a very good Eagles team coming to town. This is being hyped as one of the best games of the regular season, and it could very well live up to that hype. Will some off-the-field noise outshine the game itself, or could it come down to a last-second field goal like the Super Bowl? We’ll find out on Monday night when these two top-tier teams take the field to battle it out.
