Idon’t always take Rob Gronkowski’s opinions too seriously but this time I think he’s onto something. The former Patriots’ tight end was on a podcast with Kate Adams earlier this week and he was heard blasting the Chiefs saying,
> “**The Philadelphia Eagles opened that floodgate of, ‘Hey, if you punch these guys in the face, you take it to them, you come out swinging, they’re gonna fold, and they’re not gonna be the team you were seeing all last year,’” Gronkowski said on** [“Up & Adams.](https://x.com/upandadamsshow/status/1965804961784102935?s=46)
The Basics: Eagles at Chiefs
----------------------------
* Who: Eagles (1-0, 0-0 Away) at Chiefs (0-1, 0-0 Home)
* When: Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET
* Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo,
* TV: FOX
* Betting: Eagles -1.5 ; Total: 47.5
* Money Line: Eagles: 120 , Chiefs: Even
Gronk pointed out that the Chiefs haven’t been handling things well whenever things have started to go downhill.
> “**When things aren’t going their way…when they start struggling a little bit, they start yelling at eachother,” said Gronk. “The blame game starts going on, you can see it on the sidelines. And that’s not a good situation. You want to come together when you’re down…to figure out why.”..,to** **see them start to point fingers is not a good sign,”** **Gronk said.**
He’s not wrong here but I think it goes to an even deeper problem in K.C. More than one Chief this past week, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes pointed out that the [Philadelphia Eagles](https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/) played “hard” last February in that Super Bowl demolition, as if playing hard was some secret sauce the Birds put in their game plan. Maybe its me but I thought playing hard and with a lot of energy was a given week to week in the National Football League. If you don’t come out with energy or fight you’re going to get a real good look from your ear hole and soon disscover how it feels to be on the lousy end of a Super Bowl beat down in front of 125 million people.
Like the Birds, Kansas City opened their season in Brazil, and got beat by the L.A. Chargers 27-21. The disturbing thing is that some analysts criticized the Chiefs for coming out and “dipping their toes in the water” against the Chargers instead of imposing their will against their division rival. I watched the game and concur. But I also see a team bereft of speed and explosiveness that they had once upon a time.
It’s only week two but the Chiefs are already up against it. Only 11% of teams that start the season 0-2 make the playoffs.
The Birds are a point to a point and a half favorite on the road in Arrowhead, just like they were in New Orleans last February, but Patrick Mahomes is 11-3 straight up when an underdog which makes him even more dangerous than usual. But while I still think Mahomes is still box office, his supporting cast is not. Kansas City is without a couple of key pieces on defense in defensive end Felix Anudike and safety Deon Bush and are also down two of their top wide receivers in Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice.
Tight end Dallas Goedert is out for the Eagles but it looks like left guard Landon Dickeron will play on Sunday.
For everyone in Eagles Nation concerned because wide receiver AJ brown only had one target in the opener against those cowboys and Devonta smith had just 3 catches for 16 yards on five targets don’t get your panties in a bunch. Every game is a different season in the NFL. Stop overreacting just because one particular Sunday doesn’t look how you want it to look. The Birds are so talented they can beat you in so many ways and they do. They’ve won 17 of their last 18 games folks and as Bart Simpson would say, “That ain’t not bad.” But I’ll appease you any way.
The last two Super Bowls against the Chiefs, Smitty and A.J. have eaten and eaten pretty well. The dynamic duo have combined for 20 receptions on 27 targets for a total of 308 yards and three touchdowns. If you’re keeping score at home that’s a 15.25 yards per catch average and if Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnoulo decides to take Saquon Barkley away again then you can rest easy knowing you’ll probably be seeing more of 6 and 11 on Sunday especially since Goedert is out with a knee sprain as he’s also proven to be a K.C. killa – and no one in the entire league plays better than quarterback Jalen Hurts when Mahomes is in the building. It’s just what he does. Just ask him.
Barkley was held under 100 yards for the second game in a row against Dallas, just 60 yards on 18 carries and in the Suoer bowl against the Chiefs last February K.C.’s defense held Barkley to just 57 yards on 25 carries. However people forget that Saquon had also had six catches for 40 yards in that game for a grand total of 97 yards from scrimmage. He had 82 yards from scrimmage against the Cowboys in the season opener. The league’s rushing king can still be very effective without dropping 255 and two TDs on some folks.
In other news I’m not one to say I told you so, oh wait yes I am. This just in – it appears that the Green Bay Packers are the NFC team that might pose the biggest threat to the Birds now that they have Micah Parsons. Gee where have I heard that before?
The Packers beat up in the Commanders on Thursday night 27-18 to stay undefeated and they’ve looked pretty good in both wins so far this season.
So for all you knucklehead Eagles fans who popped the corks when the Cowboys sent him to Green Bay so the Birds wouldn’t have to face him twice a season let me say this. Get over the Dallas thing people. They’re not a real threat any more. You sound ridiculous still worrying about a team that hasn’t been relevant since the Spice girls were and before EBay was founded.
Today’s Prediction: Eagles over the Chiefs 30-23
More Heavy on Eagles
--------------------
Loading more stories