Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes says the Chiefs will have to take their game to another level if they want to avenge a Super Bowl defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in a mouthwatering rematch on Sunday. The clash at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium highlights the second Sunday of NFL action, some seven months after the Eagles thrashed the Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl 59 — denying Kansas City a three-peat in the championship showpiece.
“When you play the best of the best, you have to take your game to another level,” Mahomes said. “It’s not different in a sense of it’s a Super Bowl rematch or anything like that. I think it’s just different in the sense that you’re playing the best of the best. And so how are you going to respond?”
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Painful as it is, Mahomes has re-watched last season’s Super Bowl plenty of times, trying to gain insight into how he can improve. “You have to learn from it,” said Mahomes, who was sacked six times and had three turnovers in the title game, in which the Eagles led 34-0 in the third quarter. “That’s part of playing the game is you learn from your failures … it’s going to take our best football to go out there and get a win.”
The situation is urgent for the Chiefs, who fell 27-21 to the Los Angeles Chargers in a season-opening upset in Sao Paulo last Friday. How the Chiefs respond could show whether Sunday’s game is notable only as a look back or whether it’s a potential preview of this season’s Super Bowl.
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Jalen Hurts has the Eagles off to a 1-0 start, throwing for 152 yards and running for two touchdowns in a season-opening victory over Dallas. He downplayed the rematch angle, saying the key thing is to build on their week-one win. “It’s just another opportunity for us,” Hurts insisted. “That’s been my approach on it.”
– Purdy sidelined –
The San Francisco 49ers expect to be without quarterback Brock Purdy when they travel to New Orleans to face the Saints. Purdy suffered both a toe injury and a left shoulder injury in the Niners’ 17-13 win over Seattle last week.
Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers can keep climbing up the NFL’s all-time lists when he leads the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Seattle Seahawks. The 41-year-old threw four touchdown passes in his Steelers debut, a victory over the New York Jets. With two TD passes, he will pass Hall of Famer Brett Favre for fourth place on the all-time regular-season touchdown passes list. Rodgers needs 244 passing yards to pass Philip Rivers’ 63,440 passing yards for sixth place on the regular-season list.
Elsewhere, the Indianapolis Colts will try to back up a big week one win over Miami, in which they scored on all seven of their offensive possessions. They host a Denver Broncos team trying to start 2-0 for the first time since 2021.
The Cincinnati Bengals host the Jacksonville Jaguars in a clash of two teams coming off victories and both vying to start 2-0 for the first time since 2018. On Monday, the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Las Vegas Raiders in another clash of 1-0 teams. The Buffalo Bills, coming off a nail-biting 41-40 come-from-behind victory over the Baltimore Ravens, take on AFC East division rivals the New York Jets. The Ravens, meanwhile, will try to bounce back when they host the Cleveland Browns.
© 2024 AFP
