KC Chiefs vs. Eagles: Game grades and team MVP for Week 4
C-H-I-E-F-S, Chiefs! Back in the win column, the K.C> Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-30 behind a masterful offensive explosion and some suspect, to put it mildly, defensive play. Andy Reid grabbed his 100th win as a Chief against his former team and was hopefully able to grab a cheesesteak from Jim’s after the game.
End of the day, a win is a win and that calls for game grades and to hand out our MVP!
Patrick Mahomes: A-
This seemed so easy for Patrick Mahomes. Throwing 5 touchdowns on the day, he seemed to be in complete control offensively completing 24 of this 30 passes while also running for a couple of first downs. He had one interception where it looked like he was doing a little too much but with this Chiefs defense, do you blame him? Mahomes’ last throw to Tyreek Hill was just an absolute dagger where he released the ball insanely early, trusting Hill to play centerfield and make a play. Make a play he did.
Linebackers: D+
Yikes. Big yikes. Were they playing in quicksand? Did they know they are allowed get within five feet of a running back running a route? Outside of a few nice tackles in the run game—they did a solid job against Miles Sanders, especially Nick Bolton—they were eaten alive in the passing game.
Anthony Hitchens and Bolton looked slow, while Ben Niemann was, well, not effective either. Full transparency, I don’t blame Niemann or Bolton completely since Bolton is somewhat playing out of position. He is meant to be a run stuffer, not a coverage linebacker and Niemann is supposed to be more of a special-teamer and backup. They aren’t put in the best position to succeed by my account but at the same time, I still expect a little more.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire: B
Initial reaction is very positive and, as a whole, I liked what CEH did. It is hard to complain when a guy rushes for 102 yards on 14 carries, good for 7.3 yards per carry. While the box score looks great, it almost left you wanting more. It felt like he left a lot of yards out there because the offensive line was bulldozing the Eagles.
He caught a TD pass which was nice seeing him get more involved there and I hope that trend continues. Again, not trying to complain when you get 7. 3 YPC but didn’t it feel like some other top end backs would have gotten more? I thought this was more that the offensive line was incredible in that facet more than Clyde was churning out yards. Either way, the progression over the last two games has been nice to see and, at a minimum, bolsters confidence and keeps the defense at least somewhat honest.