What the Chiefs are saying about the Eagles pre-Super Bowl LVII rematch

Nobody has mastered the NFL bye week quite like Andy Reid.

“Big Red” is 28-4 all-time, including playoffs, with an extra week of preparation, and that is exactly what he had this past week (kind of) to get ready for Monday Night Football and a date with his former team, the Eagles. What’s Reid’s secret?

“I don’t know the reason,” the Kansas City Chiefs coach said while trying to deflect the attention from himself Thursday during his media availability. “We just go play, I’ve had good players. I’m fortunate in that way.”

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But while Reid is the master of the bye week, the Eagles at least have a level playing field, given that they are coming off their own bye. Nick Sirianni also has done well out of the bye, as he boasts a 3-0 career record, including playoffs. Part of that success might be attributed to Reid, as Sirianni once asked for and since has followed Reid’s advice about taking his wife for a mini-getaway to New York City every year during the bye.

Dig a little deeper, though, and Reid’s success is no fluke nor down purely to a few days of relaxation and a Broadway show. Former Eagles and Chiefs receiver Jason Avant said on NBC Sports Philadelphia earlier this week that Reid not only excels at recognizing “the things they do good and optimizes them going forward” but also their mistakes and to how to better “get guys into the offense more effectively.”

Reid’s ability to make adjustments were fully on display in the second half of Super Bowl LVII when the Chiefs, behind a quick-hit passing game, rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the Birds, 38-35.

One area Reid, who is 4-0 all-time against the Eagles, said the Chiefs focused on last week was cutting down penalties. The Chiefs rank 17th in the NFL with 60 penalties. The Eagles, meanwhile, are the second-least penalized team with 40.

“There were smaller things. I’m not going to get into all of that, but we worked on a few things, so we have plenty of room to improve,” Reid said. “I’ve talked about that. The penalties, we’ve got to continue to work on those and eliminate those, that’s important.”

Here’s everything else Reid and the Chiefs said about the Eagles ahead of Monday’s Super Bowl rematch:

One of the biggest storylines from last year’s Super Bowl was the Eagles pass rush striking out in the sack column.

But Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes made it abundantly clear on Thursday that the Eagles defensive line still is at the forefront of their minds.

“[Their] D-line is special, one of the best D-lines I think I’ve ever seen, just waves of guys that can come in and play, a mixture of veterans and young guys,” Mahomes said.

Reid echoed his quarterback, and pointed out the difference Jalen Carter has made in the middle while tipping his cap to a veteran he knows well in Fletcher Cox.

“Well, they drafted a really good player, and No. 91 doesn’t seem to get old,” Reid said. “I’m not sure what you guys are feeding him but he’s something else. Those cheesesteaks are working.”

The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach also praised Cox, Jason Kelce, and Brandon Graham, who played for Reid with the Eagles.

“I love those guys,” Reid said. “They’re good guys ... good human beings. And so that’s probably the most important thing, and then they’re obviously a good football players.”

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February’s duel between Mahomes and Jalen Hurts will go down as one of the greatest quarterback matchups ever in a Super Bowl, with both playing nearly flawless football. Mahomes finished 21-of-27 with three touchdowns while Hurts amassed 304 passing yards and a touchdown, and added another 70 yards and three scores on the ground. It was a fitting end to a season in which the two finished first and second in MVP voting.

Mahomes said Thursday that he relishes playing in these marquee games against other top signal-callers.

“It’s going to be a great game,” Mahomes said. “Like you said, you have great teams in general — obviously Jalen is a great quarterback, but I think just the entire team on both sides — you never know how the game is going to go — it could be high-scoring; it could be low-scoring. Two teams that usually find a way to get a win playing on Monday Night Football in front of the whole world, it’s going to be a great game, and I’m glad it’s at at Arrowhead.”

All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones also discussed the challenge of stopping Hurts.

“Eliminate the run game. If we’re able to limit how many yards he gets per carry, than I think we’re doing something good,” Jones said. “Force hands in his face and take him down in the passing game. Get around him, overcrowd him. They have a such a good offensive line who have done really, really well so far this year, so we have to come up with schemes and everything to affect Jalen Hurts.”

Reid was quick to point out Hurts’ ability as a passer, which has been evident this season. Hurts is on pace to shatter his career highs for passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completion percentage.

“He threw the ball well too; you’ve got to look at all of that,” Reid said of Hurts’ play in Super Bowl LVII. “I mean, he’s a strong kid and that helps him in running. He’s fast and strong and hard to bring down, strong in the pocket, and he’s got a big arm. He did well against us, good player.”

Athletes are superstitious almost by trade. But Mahomes takes that to a new level on game days.

On ESPN’s ManningCast this week, the Chiefs quarterback confirmed that he wears the same pair of underwear each game.

“My underwear, I’ve worn them my entire career,” he said. “[Former Chiefs backup quarterback Chad Henne] actually said something right before he retired. He said something about it, and it kind of went under the radar and I was like, ‘Thank goodness, man. No one picked that up.’ Then of course, I think it was Eli [Manning], had to say it on the broadcast, and I was like, ‘Of course, now it’s going to be a thing.’ They’ll still be worn as long as we’re winning, so I’ll make sure to clean them. I don’t wear them in the game, I just wear them to the game, so they’re not that bad. Hopefully we keep winning games, and I can wear them for 20-plus years.”

Mahomes said the underwear were a gift from his wife, Brittany, and that he’s worn them every game for the past six years.

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The Kelce brothers continue to dominate the headlines on and off the field — even more so off now that Travis is dating Taylor Swift and Jason was named one of People magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive.

Reid credited the brothers for what they have done to grow the game with their platform, which includes the No. 1 podcast in the United States in New Heights.

“Ex-players have done a great job once they’ve gotten into the media, we know that,” Reid said. “To have the guys still playing and doing it and still maintaining the support of their teams doing it, that means they are handling it the right way. They’re not putting coaches or players at risk; there’s no threat there. That’s when you get into trouble. I would tell you it’s a good example for guys — this will continue to grow with other teams. How you handle that, I think, is important. These guys have done a nice job with it. That part, I think, is the best example of it.”