Andy Reid caps emotional week with Chiefs' win over Eagles, cheesesteaks and a coaching record
One week ago, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was taken away from Arrowhead Stadium in an ambulance after the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
There was no guarantee Reid would even be on the sideline in Week 4.
He was, and Reid was able to make the return trip to face his former Philadelphia Eagles at The Linc. You probably couldn't have written a better setting or script for the Chiefs and Reid in a much-needed victory.
The Chiefs beat the Eagles, 43-30, in just the fifth zero-punt game in NFL regular-season history. Reid's offense was humming at peak performance. Patrick Mahomes threw for five TDs, three of them to Tyreek Hill, as the Chiefs outgunned an Eagles offense that did its fair share of damage, too.
This one was for Reid, who recovered quickly after his hospital visit last week and was able to set an NFL record with Sunday's victory: the first coach to amass 100 or more victories with two different franchises. That it happened in his old stomping grounds of Philly — just his second game there as an opposing head coach — made it all the more special.
Reid apparently prepared for the big game this weekend with some familiar local delicacies.
“My room was filled with food. It was good to have a cheesesteak. …It’s good to be back.”
— Andy Reid— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 3, 2021
Another player who stood tall for the Chiefs in this game was maligned running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who lost a critical fumble late in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Edwards-Helaire bounced back in a big way in this game, rushing 14 times for 102 yards and catching a TD pass just as it looked as if his role could be reduced.
Edwards-Helaire was asked about Reid's coaching accomplishment after the game. He ended up talking more about Reid as a man.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Andy Reid getting his 100th win with a second team:
I heard it 100x — no pun intended — and it was one of the things in the back of my head. Doing it for someone who never looked down on me… even when everyone in KC wanted to set me on fire… #chiefs— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 3, 2021
Reid is known for being stoic and even-keeled in public settings. We've seen that style — and it works — time and again since his first coaching chance back in 1999 with the Eagles. It's not too different than than it is now.
But Reid showed he's not immune to emotion either. Asked about the significance of the week and his return to Philly, he admitted he was on the verge of welling up.
Asked by @vgregorian if a win/visit to Philadelphia struck an emotional chord, Andy Reid replied, “You want me to cry, Vahe?”
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) October 3, 2021
Likely not. But it would have been perfectly fine if he did. After this week, how could Reid not get a little emotional?