For Andy Reid, a happy homecoming

It was difficult to tell if it was Andy Reid or the Eagles who put the Kansas City Chiefs in a better position to win the coach's homecoming game at Lincoln Financial Field because the only thing Michael Vick and the home team did rapidly Thursday night was give the football away.

All that mattered, of course, was that the night belonged to Reid and the Chiefs. The coach who won a lot of games but never the biggest one returned to the place he worked for 14 years and schooled Chip Kelly and the Eagles, leaving the Linc with a 26-16 win and a 3-0 record. It's one more win than the Chiefs had all of last season and one win that mattered more than a lot of others for Reid.

"It's all kind of settling in right now," Reid said. "I'm not sure exactly how I feel other than I'm glad we won the game. It was different. I'm at the opposite end of the field that I'm normally at and looking at different things, but I wasn't caught up in that part. It was probably good it was a short week because I was so busy . . . I didn't have a lot of time to think about a lot of the other stuff."

Reid, the winningest coach in Eagles history, was appreciative of the warm ovation he received as he entered the field while a brief video tribute listed his accomplishments here.

"I saw that, and I appreciated that," Reid said. "That was very kind of the Luries and Jeffrey to do that and for the fans the way they reacted there."

You could tell at the time of arrival that Big Red wasn't interested in the circus. When the Chiefs' team bus pulled into the tunnel just outside the visiting locker room, Reid ignored the pack of camera crews and disappeared behind the double doors without saying a word.

He promised all week that this road trip was not personal. All business was always Reid's mantra when he was with the Eagles, and a change of colors from green to red wasn't going to remove the things forever ingrained in his head.

So Reid did the best he could to ignore all the hoopla in an effort to make this just another game in his first season as Chiefs coach. And if this had not been the night Reid returned to Philadelphia and the night the Eagles retired Donovan McNabb's No. 5, this would have been just another game - a bad one at that.

There was lots of chatter about who would get the loudest applause and who might be greeted by boos. There was speculation from the national media that both the former Eagles coach and his former quarterback would hear boos because even though they accomplished a lot, it was never quite enough.

Both were treated with reverence and respect.

Reid, whether he liked it or not, did have some personal moments during his brief stay in his former home. He ordered from Chickie's & Pete's - Pete delivered - Wednesday night and shared the meal with a small gathering of friends, including Butch Buchanico, his longtime security guard with the Eagles and a quintessential South Philly cop.

When Reid finally emerged from the visiting tunnel about an hour before game time, he flashed a smile as he saw some familiar faces and then headed for the field where the Chiefs were warming up near the north end zone. If he thought he was going to peacefully watch his players get ready for the game, he was mistaken.

Kelly made it a point to go say hello to his predecessor, and a parade of Eagles well wishers followed, including owner Jeffrey Lurie and injured receiver Jeremy Maclin. Reid was cordial but obviously more interested in what was in front of him than who was talking to him.

"That's the way he was all week," said Chiefs president Mark Donovan, another former Eagles employee. "That's just him."

Nothing personal. It was just business.

There were plenty of other on-field reunions before the game because Reid's staff is loaded with former Eagles assistant coaches. But the assistant who may have had the most impact on this night was Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.

One of Reid's most savvy decisions during his tenure as Eagles coach was making the late Jim Johnson his defensive coordinator. In fact, when the Eagles get around to honoring all the people from the Reid era, it would be a great injustice if they did not include Johnson in some way.

Through three games, the Chiefs defense under Sutton, a former Army head coach, has allowed just three touchdowns while posting 15 sacks and nine takeaways. It had six sacks and five turnovers in Thursday's win. Kansas City was the first team to slow down Kelly's high-powered offense this season, although it could be argued the Eagles played just as big a role in their own demise, giving Kansas City 10 points on two turnovers in the first four minutes.

Reid's ever-evolving West Coast offense was at its best in the final quarter, scoring on a Jamaal Charles 3-yard run and a 38-yard Ryan Succop field goal.

Up by just seven points and having already lost the game's momentum following a LeSean McCoy touchdown run, the Chiefs were faced with a third and 10 from their own 5-yard line with just over 10 minutes remaining. Under pressure, quarterback Alex Smith connected for a 15-yard completion and a first down to a tightly covered Donnie Avery.

That extended a drive that lasted 8 minutes, 15 seconds. By the time the Eagles got the ball back, they were down by 10 and just over three minutes remained.

It was clear that Big Red's business trip was going to be a happy homecoming.