Arrowhead Pride
For the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, every member of our panel picked the Kansas City Chiefs to win. Our aggregate prediction of a 28-20 Kansas City victory was remarkably close to the 27-21 final… except that it favored the wrong team! As it was, our pick carried 28 points of error.
About two-thirds of our readers also expected a close game — but to their credit, 10% thought Los Angeles would win.
In Week 2, the Chiefs host the world champion Philadelphia Eagles on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Philadelphia is favored by 1.5 points.
Let’s see what the staff — and our readers — think about the matchup.
I’ll be honest: I have been dreading this pick. On paper, I don’t think this is a good matchup for the Chiefs. I don’t trust the pass rush against a much better offensive line or the cornerbacks against A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. On offense, I worry about the lack of wide receivers against the Philadelphia defense. I could see Vic Fangio throwing pressures and guys to beat the two young offensive linemen on the left side. But do I think Kansas City starts the season 0-2? No. Even though my brain logically concludes the Eagles will win this game, I just don’t think they will. I think Patrick Mahomes will play a great game — and at the end, the Chiefs will find a way to pull it out.
Chiefs 23, Eagles 20
I’m always comfortable picking the Chiefs to win — even if they were defeated in the previous game or humiliated in the last matchup with the same opponent. Still, I think this will be a tight game that will turn on what happens in the fourth quarter.
Chiefs 31, Eagles 27
For much of their Week 1 loss to the Chargers, the Chiefs looked like the deflated team that was defeated in February’s Super Bowl LIX. While Patrick Mahomes showed flashes late in the game, it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. Under head coach Andy Reid, Kansas City has started a season 0-2 just once: back in 2014. Mahomes, however, has never opened a season with back-to-back losses. But against an Eagles team with a fierce pass rush and balanced offense, history may not save them.
Eagles 24, Chiefs 20
Based on what we saw last week, there’s no way the Chiefs should win this game. But in that same breath, that’s exactly why I believe that they will. Historically, it feels like the Chiefs often lose games they’re supposed to win — and win the games they shouldn’t. This feels like one of those games. When you combine the embarrassment from last year’s Super Bowl and Week 1 in Brazil, there should be no shortage of motivation for this team to win. From an offensive perspective, they...
