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DESPITE losing DT Jalen Carter before the first snap, we rallied against a division opponent and came away with the “W”. We used our run game to dictate both the action and the pace, which is not something our upcoming opponent can do. That means they’ll be reliant on passing to move the ball. So, we’ll just have to turn up the heat on our pass rush this week.

A win and we’re 2 – 0, alone atop the NFC East.

A loss, could drop us into a three way tie for the top of the division.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. Often I list fundamentals, as some of the four things. BUT NO MORE! Unless something specific is needed, fundamentals like Running the ball; playing lots of Man Press; and Tackling instead of going for the strip, will be automatically included. (Like the five consonants and a vowel that Wheel Of Fortune automatically spots you.) So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: the Chiefs.

1) Right Side, Strong Side: The Chiefs LT will be starting the second game of his career on Sunday. Their LG will be starting his fourth. So the right side of our Defensive Line has to be dominant. The best way to do that, is get inside of those inexperienced heads. To confuse them and make them less sure of their reads.

Running a bunch of stunts, might be doing too much. However, some line shifts and LB walk-ups, will definitely stress the blocking calls/assignments. Especially when it happens closer to the snap. The Chiefs are a passing team. They cannot operate effectively if we strip away their faith in their blindside protection.

2) Trigger Their PTSD: In the Super Bowl, the Chiefs ran a lot of eight man boxes to take away RB Saquon Barkley. We also saw a ton of that last week vs the Cowboys. The result was Barkley being held to 60-ish yards in both games. While we did win both games, we can’t let teams think they can just keep employing this tactic.

An eight man box means, at least one of our WR’s is one-on-one, with little to no deep help. We need to exploit that coverage, like we did with “The Dagger”.

We need to make the Chiefs an example to the league, about what happens when opponents load up against the Philadelphia Eagles run game.

3) Much Smaller Cushions: Half of what kept the Cowboys drives alive last week, was our CB’s lining up too far off the receiver, and practically conceding the underneath pass. If we give the Chiefs a similar look, this game will become a shootout, when it should us blowing the Chiefs out.

Instead of five and six yard cushions, reduce the space to three yards, max. Give the DB’s a chance to jump a quick pass, or give the pass rush time to get home. To get Mahomes. If we aren’t going to play Bump and Run, at least stop just turning receivers loose.

4) Spread the Ball Around: Part of what is hurting our run game, is the ball not finding enough different players. Teams know who we’re trying to get the ball to, so they don’t worry about having to defend our other options.

By all means, get the ball to our main dudes. Just try to get WR Jahan Dotson another pass that’s 20+ yards in the air. A Screen to RB A.J. Dillon, could be extremely dangerous. Let’s get WR John Metchie involved.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

The Chiefs are coached by some guy named Andy Reid. He’s the Batman of NFL coaches, in that he’s almost unbeatable with extra prep time. Reid lost his first game of the season and has eight days to prepare, instead of the usual six.

On the other hand, the Chiefs have dropped their last two vs the Eagles; one of which was a manhandling during the Super Bowl; and now they’re dealing with a couple of key injuries, to a roster that even at full capacity wasn’t anywhere near as talented as the Eagles.

I’d like to say that this should be a good game, but it really shouldn’t. Unless the Eagles play down to the Chiefs, this one shouldn’t be close. I’m thinking 17 – 7 at the half, and 31 – 14 when everyone heads to the locker rooms.

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WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know FOOTBALL and that’s it. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.