LOS ANGELES: Jalen Hurts led a second-half comeback as the Philadelphia Eagles turned the tables on the Kansas City Chiefs to claim a hardfought 21-17 victory in their Super Bowl rematch on Monday. Eagles quarterback Hurts rushed for two touchdowns—including the go-ahead score via Philadelphia’s signature ‘brotherly shove’ move in the fourth quarter—to seal a gritty win at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.

The game was a repeat of the two teams’ high-scoring 38-35 Super Bowl classic last season, when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led his team back from a 10-point half-time deficit to claim victory. But while February’s Super Bowl was a free-scoring shoot-out, Monday’s game, played out in driving rain, was dominated by defense, with occasional flashes of inspiration from Hurts and opposite number Mahomes.

This time however it was the Eagles who came back from 10 points down, shutting out the Chiefs in the second half after trailing 17-7 at the break with a superb defensive display.

Hurts—who was sacked five times by a rampant Chiefs defense—came up with the decisive play when it mattered, dropping a 41-yard completion into the arms of receiver DeVonta Smith to leave the Eagles with a first and goal from the one-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.

On the next play, Hurts burrowed over for the touchdown to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. The Chiefs came within a whisker of snatching victory on their final possession, but Mahomes’ superb long-range pass intended for Marquez Valdes-Scantling was dropped by the receiver at the Eagles goal-line.

‘We found a way’

The Chiefs subsequently turned over the ball on downs to leave Philadelphia celebrating a win that takes them to 9-1 -- the best record in the NFL.

“It was two teams going at it in a hostile environment, and we showed up when it mattered the most,” said Hurts, who finished with 150 passing yards but scored two rushing touchdowns.

“That was a complete team win, a complete team effort. Sloppy weather, but we found a way.” The Eagles quarterback was quick to praise the defense’s contribution for the victory. “We didn’t play well offensively,” Hurts said. “Our defense definitely had us strong in that game. They did a great job. “In this league you get to this time of the year you just want to find ways to win and that’s the only thing that matters.

“We’re winning games but we’re yet to play our best ball. There’s a lot to be encouraged by. But we’re far from the finished product.” Kansas City took the lead in the first quarter, Mahomes finding Justin Watson with a three-yard pass into the end zone to cap a 10-play 80-yard drive.

But the Eagles responded via a D’Andre Swift rushing touchdown to level it up. The Chiefs went 10 points clear at the break after a Travis Kelce touchdown and a 43-yard Harrison Butker turnover.

The Eagles defense took over after the break though, and Hurts rushed over from 10 yards to close the Chiefs’ lead to three points at 17-14.

Hurts’ fourth quarter touchdown completed the comeback. “We haven’t played great football in the second half all season,” Mahomes said. “We’ve got to find a way to finish off games offensively.”

Earlier, Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended four games by the NFL on Monday for repeated violations of league rules meant to protect players, including a fumble-forcing hit in a Sunday victory. Jackson slammed the top of his helmet into the chest and face mask of Minnesota quarterback Josh Dobbs only 82 seconds into the first quarter, knocking loose a fumble that led to a Denver field goal in a 21-20 home triumph.

Jon Runyan, the NFL vice president of football operations, issued the ban for a violation when “a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

The Broncos, 5-5 and one game out of an AFC playoff spot, will be without Jackson for games against Cleveland, Houston, the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit. He can return ahead of a December 24 game against New England. In a letter to Jackson, Runyan called his hit on Dobbs “a serious violation of the playing rules.” “You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided,” Runyan added.

“Illegal acts that are flagrant and jeopardize the safety of players will not be tolerated. “On the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a forceful blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of an opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact,’ Runyan told Jackson. “You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.” — AFP

Jackson, who can appeal the ban to arbitration, has made similar decisions before. Jackson was handed a four-game ban after a 19-17 victory last month over Green Bay for violations of unnecessary roughness rules. But that ban was reduced to two games by hearing officer Derrick Brooks on appeal—a decision that allowed Jackson to return against the Vikings.

Jackson also was thrown out of Denver’s 35-33 loss at Washington on September 17 and later fined for a flagrant hit. Jackson, 35, was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by Houston and spent nine seasons with the Texans before joining Denver in 2019. — AFP