Instant Observations: Eagles Fall To Chiefs, 26-16

Here’s what we saw during the first half of tonight’s Eagles-Chiefs game.

OFFENSE

* Michael Vick and the offense struggled throughout. Vick was 13-for-30 for 201 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a fumble. As a team the Eagles had five turnovers, four of which came in the first half. Damaris Johnson muffed a punt and Jason Kelce botched a snap. The Eagles went into halftime trailing 16-6 and ended up losing 26-16.

* Vick was injured with under two minutes left in the game. Justin Houston sacked him, and he came up limping. Nick Foles would have come in, but the Chiefs recovered the fumble.

* On Vick’s first interception, he was picked off by safety Eric Berry, who returned it 38 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Vick appeared to be looking for Brent Celek on the “stick” concept we wrote about during the week. On Vick’s second interception, he was looking for Riley Cooper on a post.

* The offensive line struggled as well. Vick was sacked six times. Jason Peters had a tough time all night with Tamba Hali. Lane Johnson was beaten for at least one sack by Justin Houston. And it looked like Dontari Poe got by Evan Mathis once.

* LeSean McCoy had another monster night, carrying 20 times for 158 yards and a touchdown. He suffered a leg injury in the second, but returned during the first possession of the third. On McCoy’s 41-yard TD run in the third, Kelce had a nice block on Dontari Poe.

* DeSean Jackson entered the game as the league’s leading receiver, but he had just one reception for 9 yards in the first half. Jackson shook free for a 40-yard completion in the second half. He finished with three grabs for 62 yards on seven targets.

* Riley Cooper had no catches on five targets in the first half. He dropped a ball on a corner route on third down, and the Eagles had to punt. He had two catches for 29 yards in the game.

* On one possession in the third, cornerback Sean Smith suffered a calf or hamstring injury. The crowd thought he was trying to slow the Eagles’ offense down. McCoy might have thought the same as he got in Smith’s face as he went back to the sideline. Later, cornerback Brandon Flowers stopped the game for an injury. He missed one snap.

* Vick had four runs for 99 yards, including one 61-yarder on the Eagles’ lone scoring drive in the first half. Vick read Poe on the play and took off. Late on the drive, he hit Jason Avant for a 22-yard TD on a corner route. Vick made a beautiful throw as he was getting crushed by linebacker Derrick Johnson.

* The Eagles went for two after their lone touchdown of the first half and came up short.

* Kelce was playing with an injured thumb/hand. He snapped the ball into his thigh and then it hit Todd Herremans before the Chiefs recovered.

DEFENSE

* With the Chiefs pinned inside their own 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, the defense failed to get off the field, allowing Kansas City to chew 8:15 off the clock to make it a two-possession game with a field goal. On a key third down, Alex Smith hit Donnie Avery in between Bradley Fletcher and Nate Allen to extend the drive.

* Smith finished 22-for-35 for 273 yards. He was conservative for much of the night, but did not turn the ball over. Avery had seven catches on seven targets for 141 yards.

* For most of the first three quarters, the Eagles bottled up Jamaal Charles. He only had nine carries for 19 yards, but finished with 20 for 92. Charles had three carries for 28 yards on one drive in the second half, capping it off with a 3-yard touchdown run. He also caught seven balls for

* The Eagles’ defense actually played pretty well in the first half, considering the position the offense put it in. After giving up a 57-yard kickoff return to Quintin Demps to start the game, they forced a punt. Connor Barwin had an excellent first half. He blew by Eric Fisher and crushed Alex Smith on the first drive.

* After Johnson muffed the punt, Mychal Kendricks had a tackle for loss and Nate Allen sacked Smith as the Eagles forced a field goal.

* Cedric Thornton was very good early on. He had a nice run stop on third down that forced a punt.

* Vinny Curry was active for the first time all season. He played well, coming up with a sack, at least one other pressure and drew a holding penalty. Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and Trent Cole also had sacks.

* Allen and Earl Wolff continued to rotate. The Chiefs had a 51-yard completion to Avery in the first half. Tough to say for sure, but it looked like Wolff might have been at fault.

* Clifton Geathers, who has been quiet, made a nice run stop after a 1-yard gain in the second.

* Mychal Kendricks broke up a pass intended for Chad Hall in the end zone in the first half, forcing a field goal.

* Patrick Chung suffered a left shoulder injury in the second half.. Allen and Wolff finished the game at safety.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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