The Kansas City Chiefs insist everything is alright despite another effort where they were struggling offensively.
"You play bad and win, it's a lot better than playing bad and losing," said Patrick Mahomes after the game. "So I was glad we were able to find a way to get a win at the end of the day, but a lot of stuff that we have to be better at."
They overcame three turnovers in the first 21 minutes of the game along with 12 penalties for 94 yards in the heat and humidity that had all the fans scorching in the sun and players cramping on the field, including Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr.
Despite it all, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, including one to his tight end Travis Kelce, who returned in this game after missing the season opener with a hyperextended knee.
While neither offense got going in this game, the Chiefs' defense did their part and limit the Jaguars to three field goals and no touchdowns, missing on both of their end zone tries, including four incomplete passes in the red zone, two each to Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley.
This win is their eighth straight over Jacksonville since 2010, and avoided become the first defending Super Bowl champions to start 0-2 in a season since the Denver Broncos in 1999.
The Jaguars had yet another slow start, and they couldn't capitalize on two of their three turnovers and struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence, where all seven of his passes in the red zone fell incomplete.
On one of their possessions, they had to settle for a field goal after having a first and goal at the 1 to start the fourth quarter, and Lawrence threw an incompletion on 4th & 12 with 4:16 left in the game. The Chiefs ran out the rest of the clock.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones also made his debut this season after ending his holdout by way of a one-year contract, dominating the one-on-one matchup throughout the game, finishing with 1.5 sacks on five pressures, continually feasting on the Jaguars' offensive line.
The full sack came on fourth down late in the second quarter to set up the Chiefs in good field position for their only touchdown drive of the half, where Mahomes found Skyy Moore for the sophomore wideout's first career regular season touchdown. The split sack came in the fourth quarter on third down with the Jags inside the 20, and the Chiefs forced an incompletion on the play after.
Entering the game, he said there was no rust in his game, and he proved that point. If this was an indicator of how his 2023 campaign will go, his value will only go up on his new contract.
Defensively, the Chiefs finished with four sacks, with sophomore edge rusher George Karlaftis also getting 1.5, as the pass rush was more dynamic than they were in Week 1.
This year's Chiefs defense has the potential to be one of the best, if not the best, that an Andy Reid-coached team has seen, and it's quite an outstanding turnaround since they have not finished in the top 10 in defensive DVOA scores in a season with Steve Spagnuolo as their defensive coordinator (since 2019).
But Karlaftis and Mike Danna have continued to impress on the defensive line, and the linebackers may be looking like one of the best cores in the league, between Nick Bolton doing what he does, Leo Chenal being at his best against the run, or Willie Gay and Drue Tranquill holding their own against the pass. The most impressive, however, may be the young secondary.
Kansas City had extended time to prepare for one of the more dynamic teams in the NFL. However, Richie James Jr. muffed a punt when it bounced off his right shoulder, Justin Watson fumbled the ball before his knee was down, and Mahomes threw an interception. Kadarius Toney, who had a bounce-back first quarter after three dropped passes in the home opener, fumbled late in the third but was able to scoop the loose ball to avoid a fourth Chiefs turnover.
Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who spent the first four years of his career with Jacksonville, had a rather rough homecoming, as he was penalized five times and ultimately benched for backup tackle Prince Tega Wanogho for a series. He was flagged twice for false starts, twice for holding, and once for an illegal formation.
Taylor is the most-penalized player since entering the league in 2019, with 49 penalties, six more than the second-most penalized player, Donovan Smith, who is the other starting tackle on the Chiefs.
During the Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth criticized Taylor's alignment in relation to the line of scrimmage, along with a very quick first step. In this game, the officials were watching him very carefull. The Jaguars' coaches were very familiar with his playing style, so in their pregame meeting with the officials, they were emphasizing this.
Chiefs fans, however, should have the faith that offensive line coach Andy Heck and Taylor work out the alignment issues, and the hope is that this will not be a huge issue in the coming games.
Good enough, however, is not good enough for the Chiefs considering their status as a Super Bowl contender. Fumbles and penalties are still a problem for them, and the margin for error is slim. Kelce will have to be the leader that he is and not draw unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Plus, with the development of Moore, the key to successfully developing him is that he can be a YAC receiver, given he's 5' 9". He's not someone who is going to contest 50/50 balls—he caught just one of four contested catches in his career heading into the match. It's in the YAC where he can find open areas of green grass.
And they will get a chance to right their wrongs when they go back home to host the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday afternoon.
Jacksonville, on the other hand, wants to bounce back after not only losing to the reigning Super Bowl champions, but also a poor offensive display where they failed to reach the end zone for the second time in their last 23 games.
Nine of their starters returned from last year's offense, which finished 10th in scoring and yards per game. The general message throughout the team is that they got better on this side of the ball because this is the second year of head coach Doug Pederson on the team with his offensive philosophies. This is what happened with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, when Carson Wentz was an MVP candidate in Pederson's second year with them.
Though Pederson ceded his play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Press Taylor, it shouldn't have as big of an impact because Pederson called the plays in the first halves of games last season and Taylor in the second half.
To go on with that, they added Ridley in the offseason, and he looked impressive at training camp and in the season opener after a nearly two-year break because of mental health reasons and a season-long suspension for gambling.
However, they mustered just 271 yards of offense and could not score a touchdown on all three of their red zone attempts. They were 3 of 12 on third down situations, missed on both their fourth down attempts, and averaged only 4.2 yards per play. Lawrence also had the most red zone attempts without a completion since Brett Favre also went 0 of 7 in 2006.
There was a lack of execution by the offense, and it was everywhere. Kirk and Ridley had some key drops, Jamal Agnew had a fumble, and the offensive line broke down numerous time. Lawrence was also pressured on 13 of 48 dropbacks and was 2 of 7 for only 20 yards on those situations, getting sacked four times.
Even though they won in Week 1, the offense also had issues against the Indianapolis Colts, and they were also 3 of 12 on third down in that game as well, and 1 of 3 in fourth down situations.
Though the defense did their part, along with Evan Engram and Kirk, one may want to figure out what the identity of the Jaguars will be this season, whether they want to be a passing offense or wanting to establish the run, or if the defense is going to be their big storyline like they were in 2017, when they were known as "Sacksonville."
However, the sky is not falling, and Pederson doesn't see it as such. The players need to execute better through the course of the season, and the coaches, Pederson included, need to show improvement, as he said, but there is no time for overreactions.
Next Sunday when they host the Houston Texans should be a good start for Jacksonville bouncing back.
Scoring
Jacksonville, 12:59 2nd: Brandon McManus 32-yard field goal; 3-0 Jacksonville
Kansas City, 0:27 2nd: Skyy Moore 9-yard TD pass from Patrick Mahomes (Harrison Butker kick); 7-3 Kansas City
Jacksonville, 0:00 2nd: Brandon McManus 49-yard field goal; 7-6 Kansas City
Kansas City, 11:30 3rd: Travis Kelce 9-yard TD pass from Patrick Mahomes (Harrison Butker kick); 14-6 Kansas City
Jacksonville, 13:43 4th: Brandon McManus 22-yard field goal; 14-9 Kansas City
Kansas City, 8:10 4th: Harrison Butker 38-yard field goal; 17-9 Kansas City
Passing
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Patrick Mahomes: 29/41, 305 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 98.1 passer rating
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Trevor Lawrence: 22/41, 216 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 4 sacks, 1 fumble, 68.8 passer rating
Christian Kirk: 1/1, -1 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks, 79.2 passer rating
Rushing
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Isiah Pacheco: 12 attempts, 70 yards, 0 TD
Patrick Mahomes: 7 attempts, 30 yards, 0 TD
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Travis Etienne Jr.: 12 attempts, 40 yards, 0 TD
Trevor Lawrence: 5 attempts, 26 yards, 0 TD
Receiving
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Skyy Moore: 3 receptions, 70 yards, 1 TD
Justin Watson: 3 receptions, 62 yards, 0 TD, 1 fumble
Noah Gray: 3 receptions, 58 yards, 0 TD
Kadarius Toney: 5 receptions, 35 yards, 0 TD
Travis Kelce: 4 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Christian Kirk: 11 receptions, 110 yards, 0 TD
Evan Engram: 6 receptions, 57 yards, 0 TD
Calvin Ridley: 2 receptions, 32 yards, 0 TD
Defensive
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Nick Bolton: 8 tackles (5 solo)
L'Jarius Sneed: 7 tackles (6 solo), 1 TFL, 2 passes defensed
Justin Reid: 6 tackles (5 solo)
Leo Chenal: 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL
George Karlaftis: 4 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1.5 sacks
Trent McDuffie: 3 tackles (0 solo), 1 QB hit, 1 pass defensed
Chris Jones: 2 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Devin Lloyd: 11 tackles (5 solo), 2 pass defensed
Foye Oluokun: 10 tackles (6 solo), 1 fumble recovery
Rayshawn Jenkins: 8 tackles (6 solo), 2 pass defensed
Tyson Campbell: 8 tackles (3 solo)
Tre Herndon: 7 tackles (4 solo)
Darious Williams: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass defensed, 1 forced fumble
Andre Cisco: 2 tackles (1 solo), 2 passes defensed, 1 interception
Team Stats
First Downs: Chiefs 19, Jaguars 18
Passing First Downs: Chiefs 12, Jaguars 14
Rushing First Downs: Chiefs 7, Jaguars 1
First Downs from Penalties: Chiefs 0, Jaguars 3
3rd Downs: Chiefs 4/13, Jaguars 3/12
4th Downs: Chiefs 2/2, Jaguars 0/2
Total Yards: Chiefs 399, Jaguars 271
Yards Per Play: Chiefs 6.2, Jaguars 4.2
Passing Yards: Chiefs 298, Jaguars 197
Team Passing: Chiefs 29/41, Jaguars 23/42
Yards Per Pass: Chiefs 7.1, Jaguars 4.3
Sacks—Yards Lost: Chiefs 1—7 yards, Jaguars 4—18 yards
Rushing Yards: Chiefs 101, Jaguars 74
Rushing Attempts: Chiefs 22, Jaguars 18
Yards Per Rush: Chiefs 4.6, Jaguars 4.1
Red Zone: Chiefs 2/4, Jaguars 0/3
Penalties: Chiefs 12—94 yards, Jaguars 2—10 yards
Turnovers: Chiefs 3, Jaguars 1
Fumbles Lost: Chiefs 2, Jaguars 1
Interceptions Thrown: Chiefs 1, Jaguars 0
Possession: Chiefs 31:49, Jaguars 28:11
Miscellaneous
Venue: EverBank Stadium
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Attendance: 69,615 (Capacity, 67,184)
Weather: Cloudy, 87°F
Winds: WSW 6 mph
Broadcast: CBS/Paramount+
Commentators: Ian Eagle (PxP), Charles Davis (color), Evan Washburn (reporter), Gene Steratore (rules analyst)
Officiating crew: Adrian Hill (referee), Roy Ellison (umpire), David Oliver (down judge), Brett Bergman (line judge), Mearl Robinson (field judge), Jim Quirk (side judge), Greg Steed (back judge)
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