Instant analysis: Jalen Hurts, Eagles rally late after Travis Kelce's mistake hurts Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. − The Eagles and Chiefs played a rematch of the Super Bowl on Monday night.

But this time, it was in the cold and rain as opposed to the ideal whether conditions last February in Arizona, when the Eagles fell 38-35.

So it was hardly the offensive explosion of the Super Bowl.

The Eagles, in fact, did something on the second play of the game that they did not do in the entire Super Bowl: They sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as Haason Reddick got him behind the line of scrimmage.

But the Eagles trailed 17-7 at halftime because of mistakes on both offense and defense. But the Eagles eventually got it together, taking a 21-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Then they held on to win, keeping Kansas City scoreless in the second half.

On offense, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception in the second quarter trying to hit A.J. Brown at the Chiefs' 30. While the Chiefs didn't take advantage as Kevin Byard intercepted Mahomes in the end zone, it seemed to shift the momentum.

Hurts struggled throughout the first half. He was strip-sacked late in the first half, but recovered the fumble. And Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and defensive back Trent McDuffie each had 2 sacks in the first half.

Hurts was 5-for-7 for 46 yards passing with an interception. As a team, the Eagles were outgained 190-78.

DeVonta Smith 2 huge catches as Eagles take lead in 4th quarter

The Eagles continued to struggle into the third quarter, but the defense clamped down. They also caught a break when Travis Kelce fumbled the ball away at the Eagles 10 yard line.

Then the Eagles took their first lead of the game with 6:20 left. Facing a 3rd-and-8 from the Eagles' 45, Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for 13 yards to the Chiefs' 42. On the next play, Hurts threw deep to Smith, who hauled in the pass at the Chiefs' 1 yard line.

And everyone knew what play was coming next, as Hurts scored on a tush push. That gave the Eagles their first lead of the game at 21-17.

It finally got better in 3rd quarter for Hurts, Eagles offense

The Eagles continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter. They went 3-and-out on their first two possessions in the quarter.

Then the Eagles turned to some misdirection plays to get back in the game. The Eagles had just 2 first downs from their first touchdown with 31 seconds left in the first quarter through their first two possessions of the third quarter.

Finally, Hurts and the offense got untracked.

Hurts converted a "tush push" on 3rd-and-1 to get to the 50. Then D'Andre Swift broke off a 35-yard run on a misdirection play to bring the ball to the Chiefs' 15. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-5 from the 10, Hurts took off on a QB draw and scored to pull the Eagles to within 17-14.

Eagles can't stop Chiefs running game and Taylor Swift's boyfriend scored

The Eagles came into the game allowing an NFL low 66.3 rushing yards per game. The Chiefs obliterated that mark in the first half alone, nearly doubling that amount with 121 yards.

Isiah Pacheco had 12 carries for 66 yards in the first half. Even Mahomes had success. On one play, he escaped from Fletcher Cox behind the line of scrimmage, tight-roped down the sideline as Josh Sweat tried to push him out of bounds, and picked up 14 yards to the Eagles' 11.

That's when Travis Kelce scored on a 5-yard TD pass, giving the Chiefs a 14-7 lead. They added a field goal as time expired in the first half.

Eagles turn to the 'other' Swift to tie up Chiefs

Taylor Swift might not have been at the game, but the Eagles are grateful that D'Andre Swift was.

Taylor Swift was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after postponing one of her shows because of heat. She was supposed to have attended and her parents were supposed to meet Jason and Travis Kelce's parents.

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But the Eagles turned to the other Swift early and often on their touchdown drive at the end of the first quarter.

Swift ran for 17 yards down to the Chiefs' 4. Then on the next play, Swift ran the ball in for a touchdown. In all, Swift had 7 carries for 37 yards through the first quarter.

Chiefs take early lead on busted coverage in end zone

But the Eagles couldn't stop Mahomes on the Chiefs' second drive. The Eagles went three and out on their first possession, ending when Hurts got sacked on third down.

The Chiefs then drove down the field, mostly on running plays, as Isiah Pacheco ran for 24 yards and Kadarius Toney, a wide receiver, for 14 more. Then facing 3rd-and-goal from the 3, Mahomes scrambled before finding Justin Watson all alone in the back of the end zone.

It appeared to be a busted coverage by safety Kevin Byard.

Dicey situation for Eagles at linebacker

With Nakobe Dean on injured reserve, the Eagles are left with only three linebackers on the 53-man roster.

But only two of them in veterans Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow have played more than a handful of snaps this season. Christian Elliss is used exclusively on special teams. He hasn't played a snap on defense since Week 3.

That's hardly an ideal situation going against the Kansas City Chiefs and their star tight end Travis Kelce, who is by far Patrick Mahomes' favorite receiver.

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No doubt, the Chiefs will try to get Kelce matched up on a linebacker as much as possible. That would have been a tough matchup for the Eagles even if Dean was able to play. But Dean was in a three-way rotation with Cunningham and Morrow, thus lightening the load for each.

If the Eagles wanted to continue a rotation, they will have to do it with inexperienced players.

Elliss has played just 47 defensive snaps total, with 34 of them coming in the season opener when Dean injured his foot for the first time. At that time, Morrow was on the practice squad, having been waived out of training camp.

Eagles give practice-squad elevation to a linebacker

The Eagles have two other linebackers on the practice squad in Ben VanSumeren and Brandon Smith. VanSumeren received the practice squad elevation, his second of three. He also got it in the Eagles' last game, on Nov. 5 against Dallas. But he was only used on special teams.

VanSumeren was signed in May as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State. He has never played a down on defense in the NFL.

Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai wouldn't say if he plans to rotate VanSumeren in with Cunningham and Morrow. But he does like the idea of a linebacker rotation.

"The thing that we feel good about is whoever is involved there ... we really believe in any of those guys," Desai said. "That's why we do it, to keep guys fresh and make sure we got the freshest, most physical guys in the critical moments at the end of the game and at the end of the year."

That, however, is a tough assignment for someone who has never played a defensive snap.

Derek Barnett out for personal reasons, other Eagles inactives

The Eagles won't have defensive end Derek Barnett, who was ruled out for personal reasons on Sunday. Barnett likely wasn't going to be on the game-day roster anyway. He was a healthy scratch against the Cowboys, thus enabling rookie Nolan Smith to get more opportunities. Barnett doesn't have any sacks in eight games this season.

Tight end Dallas Goedert, who suffered a forearm fracture, also isn't playing Monday. But Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the plan isn't to put Goedert on injured reserve, the idea being that he might return within the next three games.

In addition to Goedert and Barnett, the Eagles also deactivated QB Tanner McKee, RB Rashaad Penny, DT Moro Ojomo and G Sua Opeta.

Opeta, who started four games in place of Cam Jurgens at right guard, is inactive. Jurgens is starting, and rookie Tyler Steen, who started the last game against Dallas, is Jurgens' backup.

The quality that makes Jason Kelce sexy

Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Eagles center Jason Kelce, recently named a finalist as People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive", said it is all bewildering to him as his brother is the one dating Taylor Swift.

But Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said he can certainly see why Kelce rates so high. In fact, it was Slay who nicknamed Kelce "Sexy Batman" last season.

"Sometimes sexiness isn’t all about the looks," Slay said. "It’s about who you are as a person. I guess how he is as a person is very, very goddamn sexy. So yeah, that could boost your rate up ... Right now, Kelce’s probably about an 8, so that’s going to make him a 10. So now he's a whole 10. Yeah, Kelce’s the GOAT."

Brandon Graham ties franchise record

By getting on the field Monday night, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham tied a franchise record in games played at 188 with kicker David Akers, who played for the Eagles from 1999-2010.

Graham was a rookie in Akers' final season. He has 2 sacks this season. Kelce (186th game) and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (181st) can also pass Akers this season. Graham is also four sacks away from tying Clyde Simmons for third in team history. Simmons had 76 sacks. Cox is fifth with 66.5 sacks.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Live analysis: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch