Despite over 50 years of simultaneous competition in the National Football League, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs meet for only the 12th time in history at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana. The only playoff meeting between the two clubs came two years ago at Super Bowl LVII, a 38-35 win for Kansas City, a fact that Philadelphians are all too well aware of. As you’ll soon see, Andy Reid has been a nearly unstoppable force for whichever sideline he patrols on in the series. To tie the all-time series up at 6-6, the Eagles must overcome their former coach to accomplish their destiny of hosting the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy in 2025.
Three Meetings in the First 30 Years
With the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Kansas City was added to the newly formed American Football Conference (AFC) alongside many of its AFL buddies, including the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and the New York Jets. The NFL’s Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers moved to the AFC at the start of the 1970 NFL season to balance the conferences. Philadelphia remained in the National Football Conference (NFC) with one addition to their current division NFC East rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis/Arizona played in the NFC East for 31 years between 1970 and 2001, including a decade while based in the desert, before moving to their current divisional home in the NFC West.
A small highlight in a disappointing 2-11-1 season, the Eagles won the inaugural gridiron fight with Kansas City, 21-20, at Arrowhead Stadium. The Eagles, who had scored only 3 points over the last two weeks in a pair of losses, stormed out to a 21-0 lead behind three touchdown passes from Quarterback Pete Liske. Ben Hawkins caught a 67-yard TD pass in the first quarter, while Harold Jackson added both touchdown catches in the second quarter. The Chiefs rallied with four unanswered scores over the game’s final half, but Philly’s defense held on for their first win of the 1972 season.
Two decades passed until the two teams collided in Week of the 1992 NFL season. The proverbial shoe was on the opposite wing as Randall Cunningham’s furious fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 24-17 loss to Kansas City. It was the first misstep on the way to an 11-5 season for Rich Kotite’s team. The Eagles won their first playoff game, 36-20, over the New Orleans Saints since 1980 during the NFC Wild Card in the same stadium that will host Super Bowl LIX, the Caesers Superdome – then under its original name for many years, the Louisiana Superdome.
In September 1998, Eagles fans got their first live look against the Chiefs at Veterans Stadium. A Duce Staley fourth-quarter TD run made the score seem closer than it was in a 24-21 loss for Philly. Eagles Head Coach Ray Rhodes was dismissed after a 3-13 season, leading to the first head coaching job for Andy Reid in 1999.
Reid’s Perfect Record Against Kansas City
In his first meeting with Kansas City in 2001, Reid’s defense caused three turnovers on the way to a 23-10 victory. QB Donovan McNabb finished 18-of-26 for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while adding 41 yards on nine rushing attempts. Duce Staley carried the ball 25 times for 80 yards for Philly, while David Akers connected on three field goals in the win.
A Week 4 matchup in 2004 at Arrowhead Stadium had a bit of everything. Philadelphia sputtered out of the gate, which allowed K.C. to open up a 17-point lead early in the second quarter. Eagles CB Sheldon Brown picked off Chiefs QB Trent Green and returned it 40 yards to the painted space for the Eagles’ first points of the day, 17-6.
Chiefs speedster Dante Hall returned the kickoff 96 yards; his 6th return TD tied the NFL’s all-time record at the time. McNabb started the comeback with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens before halftime. After the break, the Eagles scored five unanswered times to open up a 37-24 lead, including two more McNabb TD tosses. A late Chiefs touchdown capped off the scoring in a 37-31 Eagles win.
Philadelphia scored their first home win over the Kansas City Chiefs during an early season beatdown, 34-14, in September 2009. The Eagles’ offense feasted on K.C. with 420 yards, while the Birds’ defense limited the Chiefs to under 200 yards on the afternoon. Eagles QB Kevin Kolb passed for 327 yards and two touchdowns, while LeSean McCoy added 84 yards and a score in the victory.
Domination Continues in K.C. for Andy Reid
Andy Reid was removed from the Eagles organization in 2012 and landed in Kansas City, where he slowly formed an NFL dynasty after selecting Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft. Coach Reid scored multiple wins over Philly during 2013, 2017, and 2021 as he shaped a Championship contender for the next decade.
During the 2013 meeting, Michael Vick was held to 13-of-30 passing for 201 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions, and a fumble in a 26-16 defeat. The Eagles turned the ball over three times, including a lost fumble charged to center Jason Kelce. LeSean McCoy had a solid day in front of his former coach, following 20 carries that produced 158 yards and a touchdown.
One of the few blemishes on Philly’s Super Bowl LII-winning season in 2017 was a 27-20 loss in Week 2 to Reid’s Chiefs. Carson Wentz finished 25-of-46 for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while adding 55 yards via the ground game. Alshon Jeffrey and Zach Ertz each eclipsed 90 receiving yards in the loss.
Mahomes Bests Hurts in First Meeting
The first NFL meeting between superstar quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes occurred early in the 2021 season. Mahomes’s three touchdowns to Tyreek Hill were too much to overcome in a 42-30 road win for Kansas City. Philly led 10-7 after the first quarter following a 3-yard Hurts-to-Goedert touchdown pass. Mahomes’ first touchdown to Hill midway through the second quarter provided a 14-13 lead that the Chiefs would never relinquish. Mahomes and Hill would seal the win with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown celebrations.
Hurts finished 32-of-48 passing for 387 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, including 122 yards to DaVonta Smith. Mahomes totaled 278 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception in the win, while Tyreek Hill collected 186 of those passing yards on 11 receptions.
Super Bowl LVII Heartbreak for Eagles
On the biggest stage possible at the Super Bowl, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes found a way to disappoint Philadelphia fans again with a 38-35 win over the Eagles at Super Bowl LVII. While the instant classic ended on a 27-yard Harrison Butker game-winning field goal, the show’s stars at Super Bowl LVII were the quarterbacks for Philadelphia and Kansas City. Let’s try to make this as painless as possible, m’kay?
Jalen Hurts first-quarter rushing touchdown was countered by a Mahomes-to-Travis Kelce connection to tie things in the first frame. Hurts responded with a 45-yard TD pass to A.J. Brown to open the second quarter before adding his second rushing TD near the end of the second quarter, providing another lead for Philly. Jake Elliott punched through a 35-yard field goal for a 24-14 Eagles lead.
Kansas City scored the only touchdown in the third quarter on a 1-yard Isiah Pacheco run to trim the Eagles advantage to three points, 24-21. A Jake Elliott FG extended the lead to 27-21 before Mahomes stole the 28-27 lead for Kansas City on a 5-yard TD pass to Kadarius Toney. A three-and-out followed by another Mahomes TD pass saw the Eagles staring at a 35-27 disadvantage. Jalen Hurts finished off a fourth-quarter drive and two-point conversion to tie the game at 35-35 with just over five minutes to play.
The Eagles faced a critical snap with 1:48 left on the clock and the Chiefs operating on 3rd-and-8. The officials flagged CB James Bradberry for a defensive holding penalty on JuJu Smith-Schuster and an automatic first down inside the red zone. Mahomes ran the clock down before Harrison Butker’s winning kick through the yellow forks for a 38-35 Eagles loss.
Hurts finished the game with 304 passing yards and a passing touchdown. He also carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards and three touchdowns. Often lost in the disappointment are the receiving totals for Philadelphia that soared over 300 receiving yards – 100 on seven catches for DeVonta Smith, 96 on six receptions for A.J. Brown, and 60 on six grabs for Dallas Goedert.
Nick Sirianni Disrupts Chiefs Success Last Year
Okay- I agree, that sucked. But we get to end our time here on a good note – a Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts redemption win on Monday Night Football during Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season.
Mahomes struck first on a late first-quarter passing TD for a 7-0 Chiefs lead. D’Andre Swift scored from 4 yards out at the end of the first quarter to tie the game, 7-7. Travis Kelce caught a 4-yard TD pass from Mahomes to unbreak the deadlock before Harrison Butker’s FG extended the Chiefs advantage to 17-7 at the halftime break.
Hurts scored two rushing touchdowns in the second half to give Philadelphia a 21-17 lead with 8:40 remaining. Mahomes had Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the goal line for what would’ve likely been a game-sealing 50-yard TD, but the veteran receiver could not complete the catch. Mahomes was penalized for intentional grounding on the next snap of the football, which led to the 21-17 win for Philadelphia.
Related: How the Eagles beat the Chiefs: 5 ways Philadelphia outsmarted Kansas City
While it may prove to be inconsequential, the Eagles have a minor mental edge over the Chiefs with a win in their last meeting entering Super Bowl LIX. As tight as the games have been between the two franchises over the years, that might be enough for Eagles fans to flock down to Broad Street in Early 2025.
