View From Kansas City: Eagles "Elite" Jalen Hurts Could Keep Chiefs On The Run

PHILADELPHIA – The last time the Kansas City Chiefs saw Jalen Hurts, the Eagles quarterback was walking out the door of the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans with two trophies in tow – the Lombardi and the Rozelle.

Hurts helped the Eagles win the Vince Lombardi trophy for leading them to a 40-22 blowout of the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and the Pete Rozelle trophy for being named the game’s MVP.

“The guy we’re getting ready to play this week is elite at (using his legs),” said KC defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “We’ll talk until we’re blue in the face about pass rush lanes, containing him, and we have some things we hope take that away.”

Such as putting a spy on him?

“Part of the thing with football, with spying or whatever you wanna call it is, you gotta get them in those situations,’ said Spagnuolo. “When you’re in first and second down, you can’t be spying people because they’ll run right at you, so we have to try to dictate it somehow by having some negative plays on first and second down and get things started in our direction.”

Chiefs Have To Worry About More Than Eagles QB

Sep 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) looks on after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Chiefs also have to be mindful of the Eagles' plethora of weapons, starting with running back Saquon Barkley and on the outside with receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Then there’s the offensive line that defensive tackle Chris Jones and his linemates will be up against.

“That’s a well-coached group, a very cohesive group,” said Jones. “They have some big bodies. They have a lot of talent over here. (right tackle) Lane Johnson, the left tackle (Jordan Mailata). They’re some of the better tackles in the league.

“Landon Dickerson is a stout guy. The center who Jason Kelce picked kind of mirrors the Jason Kelce game. The right guard (Tyler Steen) who comes from Alabama is very, very huge, athletic. So, it offers a good challenge to us as a D-line to get after it. We love to compete against this type of talent. It gives us a challenge to compete against a better offensive line and get after it.”

KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes struggled against Vic Fangio’s defense in the Super Bowl, but the Eagles' defense has lost some key parts, especially up front. Still, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is familiar with Fangio.

“Coach Fangio, we all have a ton of respect for, and what he does,” said Nagy. “He does what he does and he’s gonna have some curveballs and change-ups that he throws at you, but in the end it’s about playing football fast, and whoever does that better, and I think a fast start, playing fast, being able to be aggressive, with mixing that all together, you’re gonna have good results.”

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