Jags undone by miscues in loss to Chiefs

By Dustin Fletcher | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Jaguars’ defense was a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster performance against the Chiefs, where Jacksonville lost 14 to 30.

Second-year Chiefs sensation Patrick Mahomes had not thrown an interception through four games. On Sunday, he threw two. He had thrown 14 touchdowns through four weeks. He threw for zero on Sunday. The 30 points were a product of turnovers, putting the Jags defense on a short field time and time again.

The Chiefs only scored on 50 percent of their red zone possessions. The Jaguars only let in two offensive touchdowns, which puts this at six touchdowns in five weeks, best in the NFL. They only sacked Mahomes once for 15 yards. This shows how extensive the pressure had to have been if a quarterback dropped back 15 yards. If this is any indication, the sacks will continue to come for this team when they play against less athletic quarterbacks than Mahomes.

Additionally, the Jags allowed 5.9 yards per carry on running plays for Kansas City. When I first saw this statistic, I immediately had respect for the Kansas City big play offense. With the speed and explosive play ability of Sammy Watkins, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, the Jags were forced to drop more players into coverage rather than playing the run consistently. I was struck by the Chiefs’ use of motion with receiver Hill.

This forced cornerback Jalen Ramsey to chase him around the field even before the play started. Constant motions at the line force less press coverage and playing a softer zone coverage due to fatigue, so players like Hill cannot get behind the secondary. This leaves wide open lanes in the running game for a premier running back like Kareem Hunt or a mobile quarterback like Patrick Mahomes to move the ball with their legs.