[Kansas City.com] As much as the Chiefs like to pretend all games are created equal, Sunday’s meeting with defending NFC champion Philadelphia at Arrowhead Stadium proves otherwise.

This one gets their hearts beating faster than, say, next month’s game in Houston will.

“You turn it up a notch when you’re getting ready to play a team like this,” Chiefs fullback Tony Richardson said. “When you’re getting ready to play Philadelphia, you can’t leave anything to chance. You can’t leave any detail unnoticed. It forces you to focus even harder because you know if you’re not ready, they’re going to exploit your weaknesses.”

“Teams like New England and Philadelphia win the old-fashioned way,” Waters said. “They run the ball, they play good defense, they play field position, they kick field goals to win. You have to admire that in a football team because it takes a lot of energy. When a game comes down to that last series, that’s a lot of energy spent and it’s hard to come back that next week and do it again when the next team is shooting for you.”

That maybe the most underappreciated ability of teams such as New England and Philadelphia. They withstand everyone’s best shot.

“I kind of felt that way the last four years,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game. I know other teams are saying that about us. We’ve been getting everybody’s best shot.”

“It’s a great way to measure where we are at this point of the season,” Chiefs quarterback Trent Green said. “Does it mean this is where we’re going to be week 12 or week 14 or week 16? Hopefully, we’ll be a lot better then.”

“We took that approach against the Jets. They were a team that was a field goal away from going to the AFC championship game. We felt real good about ourselves that week.”