Eagles-Chiefs takeaways: Sean Desai is becoming battle-tested; special teams impactful in the rematch

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Eagles left Arrowhead Stadium with an impressive win and tinge of Super revenge.

Their 21-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs preserves a one-game lead over the Detroit Lions on the NFC and gives the Eagles the best record in the NFL through 11 weeks for a second year in a row.

Here’s what we learned:

After a shaky couple weeks before the bye, Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai rose to the momentous occasion against the Chiefs on Monday night.

The opening half of Desai’s first season had been a bit of a rollercoaster. There were signs of promise against the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins, but also concerns lingering after the poor performances against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders twice.

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The defense’s trouble against Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in particular made the game against his old boss Andy Reid feel ominous, but it was anything but. Desai showed meaningful growth in the most anticipated game of the season and came out battle-tested.

One of Desai’s best traits may be his feel for the game. The word “adjustments” often gets thrown around when discussing coaching and can be incessantly vague, but Desai’s second-half production this season speaks for itself. The Eagles have held teams to one score or fewer in six of their 10 games and are allowing just 8.7 points per game in the second half, which is tied for ninth in the NFL. It’s also worth noting Desai’s group has now pitched second-half shutouts against both the Chiefs and Sean McVay’s Rams.

Desai listens to his players and isn’t afraid to try things for a series or two when things aren’t working. His plan to have four eyes or more focused on Travis Kelce for most of Monday night worked as the Chiefs struggled to exploit the one-on-one matchups Kelce’s attention afforded them. The Eagles run defense eventually settled in as well, although it may have come down more to individual players rather than a significant shift in scheme.

Regardless, Desai has shown enough to suggest he can deliver in big moments against the league’s best coaches. He has done it against a Kyle Shanahan disciple in Mike McDaniel and now against Reid himself. More tests await him, but his body of work is worthy of confidence at this point even if there are a few hiccups against elite offenses in the coming weeks.

» READ MORE: Eagles newcomers Kevin Byard and Bradley Roby turned away the Chiefs offense in a second-half shutout

Even though the point production wasn’t as good as weeks prior, Monday felt like an important game for the Eagles offense.

Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo threw the kitchen sink at the Eagles offensive line and found a way to dominate the trenches, which is easier said than done against that group. He sent Trent McDuffie on well-timed blitzes for two sacks, including one in which the nickel corner came off the edge behind a twist stunt that left the right side of the Eagles’ line reeling.

Chris Jones got to Jalen Hurts twice as well, beating Landon Dickerson as Hurts tried to extend a play and taking advantage of a miscommunication against Lane Johnson, who was expecting Hurts to take off on a quarterback draw. Johnson said he tried to “shotput” Jones, essentially pushing him upfield and out of the draw play the offensive front expected, but Hurts’ check was actually for a drop-back pass that resulted in Jones blowing up the play.

The Eagles fared much better protecting Hurts in the second half, not conceding a sack, but the byproduct was a screen-heavy approach that cost the offense a chance at taking many shots downfield. According to Next Gen Stats, Hurts only attempted two passes over 20 yards with the lone completion coming on DeVonta Smith’s 41-yard catch in the fourth quarter.

According to Pro Football Focus, Spagnuolo called blitzes on 15 of Hurts’ 28 dropbacks and had meaningful results. Hurts completed just 41.7% of his throws against the blitz and didn’t have any scrambles against the blitz. When the Chiefs rushed four, Hurts completed 90% of his passes, but his average depth of target was just 2.4 yards, illustrating the number of screens the Eagles called in those situations.

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In their first game without Dallas Goedert, the Eagles got creative with their personnel groupings.

There were several snaps where the offense had two running backs and no tight ends on the field, some plays with a wide receiver lined up in the backfield, and plenty of pre-snap motion to identify matchups and determine whether the Chiefs were in man or zone coverage.

One fun wrinkle was when Olamide Zaccheaus and D’Andre Swift, both former St. Joseph’s Prep stars in their first year with the team, lined up in the backfield together on opposite sides of Hurts in 20-personnel (two running backs, no tight ends).

The odd looks along with the return of Cam Jurgens went a long way toward rejuvenating the Eagles’ run game even with Goedert sidelined. Swift had 76 rushing yards on 12 attempts while also gashing the Chiefs in the screen game, logging three catches for 31 yards.

In order for the Eagles to start putting games away like they did last year, the run game will be an important part of things. Monday night was a promising sign.

In high-leverage games like Monday night’s, there are often several plays/players that go slightly unnoticed that are worth mentioning. Here’s a few that stand out:

1. If not for Josh Jobe tackling Chiefs punt return specialist Kadarius Toney late in the fourth quarter, do the Eagles win that game? Toney was averaging nearly 10 yards per return, but Jobe tripped him up for no gain at the 9-yard line without another Eagles defender within five yards of them. Perhaps the Eagles defense would have held on even without the favorable field position, but Jobe’s play feels pivotal in hindsight.

2. Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu each played an important part in the Eagles’ run defense, with Williams recording five total tackles including one for a loss. Jordan Davis, possibly still dealing with a hamstring injury from last month, struggled against the Chiefs’ interior line, making the two’s role even more important on early downs.

3. Britain Covey was steadily productive, netting 53 return yards including a 26-yarder in the third quarter that set up a scoring drive for the Eagles offense.