Eagles/Chiefs Preview: TE Dallas Goedert will miss Sunday's showdown
QB Tanner McKee returns to practice
From The Reporter: https://tinyurl.com/yp4mxw2p
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, nursing a sprained knee, was officially ruled out for Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Friday.
But in a surprising development, quarterback Tanner McKee, recovering from a broken thumb on his throwing hand, practiced on a limited basis and is listed as questionable. The Eagles haven’t said whether he or Sam Howell will serve as Jalen Hurts’ backup.
Left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) and edge rusher Jalyx Hunt (hip) will play.
Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who suffered an injured shoulder when Travis Kelce collided with him in a Week 1 loss to the Chargers, is listed as doubtful. Coach Andy Reid said he has a “slim chance” of playing, but he did practice on a limited basis the last two days. Wide receivers Jalen Royals (knee) and Reshee Rice (suspension) are out. Receiver Hollywood Brown (ankle) will play, but Kansas City will be thin at the position.
When healthy, Goedert is a playmaker who runs clean routes, breaks tackles and blocks well in the run game. But he has missed 21 meaningful games over the past six seasons. Without him, the Eagles will rely on Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson, who was signed in the offseason from Indianapolis. Also, E.J. Jenkins or Cameron Latu could be elevated from the practice squad.
“Grant’s done a really good job of stepping in and playing when Dallas hasn’t been able to play these last couple years,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “Really excited about Kylen and the things he can do, and I like both of our guys that are on the practice squad. … Both are developing players. I think sometimes that’s rare that you have those guys on the practice squad.”
McKee, who turned 25 in April, secured the backup job but injured his thumb late in training camp. So general manager Howie Roseman acquired Howell as insurance.
McKee impressed in his NFL debut last year, completing 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a Week 18 win over the Giants. In this year’s preseason opener against most of Cincinnati’s starters, he went 20 of 25 for 252 yards and two scores, again with no picks, and rushed for a score on a tush push.
Offensive issues: Though the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 in February’s Super Bowl, Kansas City held Saquon Barkley to 57 rushing yards. Of course, that meant Hurts made use of his receiving weapons in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson and Goedert. (Even Barkley had six catches for 40 yards.) But the record-setting rusher expects more success on the ground this time.
“I’m just super confident in those guys up front and our play calling, and then in myself that I always believe we’re one block away,” Barkley said. “Every time I touch the ball, every time we’re in the run game, I feel like we have the ability to make a big one pop.
“Every game is not going to be 100, 150 yards. And my goal … is not to rush for 2,000 yards. It’s to win football games. We were able to do that, and now we’ve got to go to Kansas City in a tough environment and find a way to get another one. … I’m excited for the challenge.”
The Eagles, with first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, also want to feed their top receivers after Brown and Smith combined for just four targets in last week’s opener against the Cowboys.
“Week by week, it differs,” Smith said. “(Dallas) just dropped a lot of guys out (into coverage). It’s tough to get guys the ball when you have guys dropping underneath and they’re rolling coverages certain ways. … Space is limited.
“I wouldn’t say you’ll see more of it, because if you do that, then we’re just gonna run the ball down your damn throat. (Dallas) did a good job last game, but I don’t think you can sit there and just drop people because then the run game’s just gonna eat you up.”
Smith said the lack of rushing yardage against the Cowboys came down to missed assignments. “It was just a matter of us going out there and executing, whether it’s us on the perimeter not going to get the safety when he’s down or maybe some missed assignments on the O-line. … There were a couple plays where we were supposed to make a block and we didn’t, and it didn’t pop. It’s a matter of (everyone) blocking the right person.”
Defensive fixes: While the offense looks for balance, the defense is focused on cleaning up last week’s mistakes. The Eagles gave up 119 rushing yards and several chunk plays through the air against Dallas. Linebacker Zack Baun, who had an interception in the Super Bowl, said the unit has to be sharper.
“We have a lot of things to correct, a lot of things to work on, particularly in the run game,” Baun said. “I wasn’t too proud of that.”
Baun added that he’s eager for his first game at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the loudest venues in football.
“It’s one of the only stadiums I have yet to play at, and from a fan’s perspective, I’m just excited for the energy,” he said. “You just kind of build off what you’ve done in the past and how they tried to attack us in the past, but understanding they have new guys and we have new guys, and we’re two different teams.
“15 (Patrick Mahomes) is a really savvy quarterback. He’s played in this league a long time, pump fakes the ball, eludes pressure very well. We’ve just got to get him on the ground when we get our chances. … Even in the Super Bowl, there were things we messed up and have to fix. In coverage, I think our pressures bailed us out of a couple things. I’m just excited to get the chance to do it again.”
A major disrupter creating pressure in that Super Bowl was defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who will be available after being tossed six seconds into the opener against the Cowboys.
Pregame position grades: Here’s how the teams match up heading into Sunday. Performances will be evaluated postgame.
QB: Chiefs A+ Eagles A
RB: Eagles A+ Chiefs C
TE: Chiefs A- Eagles C-
OL: Eagles A Chiefs C+
DL: Chiefs: A- Eagles B
LB: Eagles A Chiefs B+
CB/S: Eagles B Chiefs B-
K: Chiefs A+ Eagles A
P: Eagles A Chiefs B+
Returns: Chiefs A- Eagles B
Media hype: Because it’s a star-studded Super Bowl rematch featuring Mahomes, Hurts, Barkley and Taylor Swift’s fiancée, media outlets have converged on Kansas City, which is seeking at least a measure of redemption after the Super Bowl. FOX, which is broadcasting Sunday’s game, moved part of its studio sports programming to Kansas City late in the week to conduct panel shows in front of fans.
Super Bowl LIX was the most-watched event in U.S. television history (127.7 million viewers, with 182 million tuning in at a given time). The game was broadcast in 150 countries, drawing an additional 62.5 million viewers globally.
On the air: Eagles at Chiefs, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET. Television: FOX 29 (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi). Radio/streaming: 94.1-WIP FM, Tico, Compass Media.
NOTES: Eagles RB Will Shipley (oblique) and T Cameron Williams (shoulder) are out. … Since Sirianni’s arrival in 2021, the Birds own the NFL’s second-best road record (24-10, .706), just behind Kansas City (25-10, .714). … This is the first time since the 1970 NFL merger that an AFC and NFC team will meet in five consecutive seasons (including playoffs).
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.