Philadelphia Eagles: Reid gets last laugh again

The Philadelphia Eagles lose again to former head coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Note to the Philadelphia Eagles: There’s no shame in losing a football game in Kansas City. The atmosphere at Arrowhead Stadium is one of the best in the NFL and that’s punctuated by the tremendous noise.

Having said that, it’s a thorn in the side when former Eagles head coach Andy Reid is the opposing head coach.

The Eagles fell to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 27-20, although the game was decided late by an actual score of 27-13. Nice heroics late on the part of second-year quarterback Carson Wentz, but there were other issues in this game that you’re already aware of. Wentz must learn to hold on to the ball in the pocket under pressure and it’s a great idea not to throw passes under heavy pressure off the helmet of opposing defenders moving in for the kill.

Reid knew what to expect from the Eagles – he spent plenty of time in the City of Brotherly Love and is beyond familiar with Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson. Clear was the fact that the Eagles aren’t a great running team and those 107 rushing yards from the Philadelphia offense come with a bit of an asterisk.

Wentz ran the ball four times for a total of 55 yards on just four carries. His total yardage and a long of 24 yards were both good enough to lead the Eagles offense, but it wasn’t enough for a win.

Reid seemed to be a step ahead and simply had better use of his weapons than Pederson did. Reid likes to get the ball into the hands of his best players close to the line of scrimmage, like he used to with Brian Westbrook and Duce Staley, the latter of which is now running backs coach for Philly.

On Sunday, it was Kareem Hunt that did most of the damage out of the Chiefs backfield – not at all a surprise following his debut against the New England Patriots on Week 1.

Yes, Reid knows how to utilize weapons in low-risk fashion while getting excellent results out of rather simple and conservative game plans.

Wentz’s two touchdown passes, only one of which really mattered while the outcome was in question, were offset by just a single interception and also by a couple of fumbles he allowed. Even though the strips were recovered by the Eagles, they didn’t help drives.

Throw in a Darren Sproles fumbled punt return, and we see that only a few plays are what generally seperate two teams in the NFL on a given Sunday, Monday or Thursday.

If you’re looking ahead at revenge against Reid, don’t bother. The earliest the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will play again is the year 2021, and who knows who will be coaching the Chiefs by then.

Of far greater importance is a home-opening matchup against the New York Giants next Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

No, there’s no shame in losing at Kansas City – or to arguably the greatest head coach in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles.