Which Chiefs’ Unit Is Under Magnifying Glass vs Eagles

The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in their season opener, with some of the biggest takeaways from that game being the Xavier Worthy injury and Justin Herbert's performance against the Chiefs' defense.

The Chiefs' defense, which is usually one of the best in the NFL, got torched by Herbert through the air. Their secondary looked unprepared for him to throw the ball as much as he did, and it resulted in him having the game of his life.

Magnifying Glass

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) looks dejected after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images | Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images

Their next game, the Chiefs' secondary will be put under a magnifying glass against the Philadelphia Eagles. They didn't have an impressive game through the air in their season opener, but the last time these two teams met, Chiefs defenders couldn't stop Jalen Hurts from airing the ball out on their defense.

Bradley Locker is a sports writer for Pro Football Focus, and he wrote an article going over the top ten best positional matchups in week two of the NFL. For the Chiefs and Eagles game, one of those matchups is Chiefs' cornerback Trent McDuffie against Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown.

Week 2 Matchup

Sep 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

"After securing a 90.9 PFF receiving grade during his championship 2024 season, Brown started slowly out of the gates in 2025. Against the Cowboys, Brown received only one target and posted just a 56.4 PFF receiving grade, his second-lowest in a game dating back to the beginning of last season", said Locker.

Due to his performance last game, the Eagles may opt to feed the ball to Brown in order to smooth things over with him as well as establish him in their offensive plan. With this in mind, the Chiefs have an interesting decision to make on how they guard him.

Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Meanwhile, McDuffie has generated an 82.0-plus overall PFF grade in each of the last two years and began 2025 strongly with a 70.2 overall PFF grade vs. the Chiefs. When these two standouts lined up against one another in New Orleans in February, Brown bested McDuffie by a hair".

McDuffie was the only player in the Chiefs' secondary who had a positive impact in their loss in week one. In order to avoid a 0 - 2 start, he'll have to play better than he did against Brown in Super Bowl 59 to take away one of their biggest weapons on offense.

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