2023 NFL season: Four things to watch for in Eagles-Chiefs on Monday night

11/19/2023

The schedule makers picked a doozy to close out Week 11 and whet fans’ appetites three days ahead of Thanksgiving — although Eagles versus Chiefs is far more a main course than a starter.

When Kansas City (7-2) plays host to Philadelphia (8-1) on Monday, it will mark the seventh regular-season matchup between the previous year’s Super Bowl participants in NFL history. The Super Bowl winners hold a 5-1 advantage in those rematches, a lopsided gap in the Chiefs’ favor.

Monday’s showdown also represents the winningest season-after Super Bowl rematch the league has ever seen. Philly and K.C.’s combined .833 winning percentage trumps the 1979 Steelers and Cowboys, who had a combined .813 winning percentage at the time of their meeting, per NFL Research.

But there’s more at stake than simply an encore to Super Bowl LVII.

These teams both lead their respective conferences and have sights set on a No. 1 seed.

The Chiefs, who won the previous meeting, 38-35, possess the best-ranked defense they’ve had in a decade — but they’re not the same offensive world beaters the NFL has become accustomed to seeing during the Patrick Mahomes era.

Having never finished worse than sixth in scoring with Mahomes at the helm, Kansas City emerges from its Week 10 bye ranked 13th, perilously close to league average.

If they hope to host an NFL-record sixth straight AFC Championship Game come January, now is the time for the Chiefs to begin shifting into high gear.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have enjoyed a top-three scoring offense for a second consecutive season and hold the NFL’s best record, but their brutal post-bye schedule features five straight .500-or-better opponents who made the postseason last year. Keeping momentum is imperative.

Which team will capitalize to deliver a statement win in this Super Bowl rematch — one that could very well serve as a preview of the next one to come?

Here are four things to watch for when the Eagles visit the Chiefs on Monday night:

WHERE: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)
WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes, NFL+

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