Five things the KC Chiefs must do to beat the Philadelphia Eagles

2. Stay out of third and short/Contain the running game on defense

If there's one thing that the current iteration of the Philadelphia Eagles is known for, it's the "Brotherly Shove" (also known as the "Tush Push" to some). It's their version of a quarterback sneak that's extremely hard to stop, with a success rate of over 90%. For a better breakdown than I could ever provide, please refer to this video by Brett Kollmann.

A huge part of this game will be how well the Chiefs' defense performs on early downs. Whether that means stuffing the vaunted Philadelphia running game, forcing incompletions, or even sacking Jalen Hurts. Part of avoiding short-yardage situations is effectively limiting the running game, which they did against the Dolphins two weeks ago. Once the Eagles get into 2nd/3rd down and 3 (or shorter), it's pretty much over until the next set of downs. Philly has the best third-down conversion rate in the NFL at exactly 50% and a huge part of that is how dominant they are in short-yardage situations.

The Kansas City defense needs to get off the field when they can in this game. That starts on first down and forcing the Eagles offense into situations where they need to throw the ball. If it's third down and 3 (or shorter), it's a pretty much a given that they'll get a first down, even if that means going for it on fourth down. If the Chiefs can win on early downs, they'll be in a much better position to win this game.