What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 2 vs. the Chiefs

The NFL scheduling overlords gave the Eagles one heck of a way to open the season — a Week 1 matchup against a divisional rival, followed by the Super Bowl rematch in Week 2.

Week 1 usually isn’t an indicator for how a team will look for the rest of the season. But the Eagles’ win over the Dallas Cowboys did provide some insight — and raise plenty of questions — about the direction the Eagles as they start to develop an identity. The same can be said for the Kansas City Chiefs, who were upset by the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles through one game and why it matters ahead of Week 2 against the Chiefs:

In his debut as offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo — and, really, Jalen Hurts — did enough to win. There were some positives to take away from the play-calling, especially in the second quarter on double post concept that saw Jahan Dotson haul in a perfectly placed 51-yard pass from Hurts. The Eagles scored on four straight drives, including a touchdown on Patullo’s opening script, before the thunderstorm delay.

But any time a player like A.J. Brown finishes the game with one whopping target (albeit a critical one late in the fourth quarter that helped the Eagles protect their lead), an offensive coordinator must reevaluate. It wasn’t like Hurts was ignoring Brown or as if the three-time Pro Bowl receiver appeared hampered by injury (he dealt with a hamstring ailment during training camp, but he wasn’t on the injury report last week).

The Cowboys limited chunk plays by playing zone for all of Hurts’ 33 dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, which is unusual for the Dallas defense (they were in man coverage at an above average rate in 2024). Brown, who thrives against man coverage, was bracketed for most of the contest.

“That’s something that I can’t control,” Brown said postgame. “The only thing I can control is what I do when I get the ball.”

The Eagles also had some protection issues in the second half that made it challenging for Hurts to get the ball to Brown.

All of that is to say that Hurts took what was given to him and didn’t force anything, which is a sign of poised, confident quarterbacking. Still, Patullo needs to find ways to manufacture touches for Brown. The Eagles are a better offense when he gets the ball in his hands.

Can Patullo make better adjustments and have more success getting Brown the ball in Week 2? The Chiefs are coming off a rough game defensively, especially in the secondary. Chargers receivers were wide-open throughout the night, even in the red zone, because of errors (like collisions, miscommunication, and mental mistakes) committed by the Chiefs’ secondary. Was it a fluke, as Week 1 is notoriously messy for some teams, or is Steve Spagnuolo’s unit continuing to regress?

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One area in which the Chiefs defense didn’t show signs of regression was in run-stopping. They picked up on Friday night where they left off in the Super Bowl when they limited Saquon Barkley to just 57 yards on 25 carries.

Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton, the No. 22 overall pick out of North Carolina, rushed for just 48 yards on 15 carries (3.2 yards per attempt, roughly one yard less than the Chargers’ clip in 2024). The Chiefs limited him without loading up the box — Hampton faced boxes of eight-plus defenders on just 20% of his carries, according to Next Gen Stats. Three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Nick Bolton led the way with two run stops apiece, per Pro Football Focus.

It was a different situation, similar result for Barkley on Thursday night. Fresh off his 2,005-yard season, Barkley faced a stacked Cowboys box on a staggering 66.7% of his attempts, per Next Gen Stats. In those situations, the 2024 offensive player of the year averaged 2.8 yards per carry (he got stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage five times). The blocking simply was not up to the standard of the Eagles’ offensive front, and Grant Calcaterra is not a consistent enough blocker to see the field as much as he did on those run plays.

“We weren’t effective as we wanted to be in the run game,” Lane Johnson said postgame. “I think moving forward, we’ll have to adjust. Teams are going to [load up the box] until we find a way to combat it.”

The Chiefs might not need to load up the box like the Cowboys did to be successful against Barkley. They didn’t in the Super Bowl. If they do, though, the Eagles’ passing game needs to make them pay. For whatever reason, that wasn’t the case against the Cowboys.

Hurts didn’t face many extra rushers against the Cowboys. He wasn’t blitzed in the first half, but defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus switched things up in the second half and blitzed Hurts on six drop backs (17.6%), according to PFF.

The Cowboys had some success applying extra pressure to Hurts. They earned their lone sack of the night when defensive end Marshawn Kneeland beat Tyler Steen. It occurred on a corner blitz, which effectively gave Hurts nowhere to flee when Kneeland was in his face up the middle of the pocket. On a different blitz that wasn’t picked up by Barkley (it was not his best night in pass protection), Hurts managed to spin away from cornerback Trevon Diggs and throw the ball away.

The Chiefs may dial up the pressure on Sunday. Spagnuolo is known for his creative blitz packages, which were on display on Friday night in São Paulo. Justin Herbert, who arguably played one of the best games of his career, mostly was unfazed by the Chiefs’ attempts to send extra bodies his way on 41.5% of his dropbacks. In fact, wide receiver Quentin Johnston scored the game-sealing touchdown when the Chiefs rushed five.

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If Adoree’ Jackson intends to keep the starting outside cornerback job opposite Quinyon Mitchell, he did not make a very good case for himself on Thursday night. The 29-year-old cornerback conceded five receptions on seven targets for 103 yards, per PFF, with the majority of the damage inflicted by CeeDee Lamb (three receptions for 72 yards, plus a dropped pass). To his credit, Jackson also had a pass breakup on Lamb that helped the defense force the Cowboys to settle for their first field goal of the second quarter.

Jackson exited the game later that quarter while he was evaluated for a concussion. Jakorian Bennett, whom the Eagles acquired during training camp from the Las Vegas Raiders, played one series and was flagged for pass interference on his first target.

How long is the leash for Jackson? Evidently, long enough for him to finish the game after he was cleared to return, but will he start against the Chiefs? Do the Eagles have a better option?

It’s worth noting that Kansas City’s receiving corps could be depleted in Week 2. Wide receiver Rashee Rice is serving a six-game suspension, and Xavier Worthy was injured on the third play of the game in Week 1 when he collided with Travis Kelce on a mesh concept. He was ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury and was slated to undergo an MRI.

It started out rough for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs receivers on Friday night. He overthrew his receivers on a couple of deep passes. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown had a drop. Kelce wasn’t always on the same page with his quarterback. But Mahomes, who can make passes while airborne and horizontal, apparently, kept the game close. He extended plays. Brown and Kelce became more reliable as the game progressed.

The Eagles — especially Jackson — have to be ready on Sunday, even if the Chiefs are without both Rice and Worthy.

Vic Fangio has two Swiss Army knives in the middle of his defense. Zack Baun already was a proven commodity. Jihaad Campbell made a statement on Thursday, executing a variety of assignments at a high level. According to PFF, Campbell finished the night with three tackles (including a run stop), one pass breakup on his lone target (34 total coverage snaps), and one forced fumble.

That’s a doozy of a debut for the South Jersey-raised No. 31 overall pick out of Alabama. The pass breakup on a throw 30 yards downfield for Cowboys tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford was representative of the speed and athleticism Campbell possesses. On the same drive, Baun also had a pass breakup on tight end Jake Ferguson at the goal line.

“It was something I really worked on in the offseason,” Baun said of his coverage abilities. “I had a couple of those opportunities. For a linebacker, it’s few and far between that we’re carrying receivers, running backs, and tight ends down the field like that. And last year, I felt like that was part of my game that I needed to get better at.”

Those coverage chops are going to be all the more important on Friday against a tight end like Kelce, who still has it at age 35. Their athleticism and physicality also can help prevent Mahomes from inflicting excessive damage on the ground. The three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback scrambled for 57 yards and a touchdown on six carries on Friday, punishing the Chargers inside linebackers more than once for not honoring him as a run threat.