Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs allow an AFC opponent to get a signature win. Penalties, a significant turnover, horrific special teams, and a defense that couldn’t get off the field continue to showcase this team’s shortcomings on the field.
Everything was set up for the Kansas City Chiefs to build on their two-game winning streak. Still, the Jacksonville Jaguars, down by 14 points, aided by a huge pass interference penalty on an uncatchable pass and Drew Tranquill knocking the ball out of Nick Bolton’s hand that would have buried Jacksonville, ended up changing the game as the Chiefs fell 31-28 to the Jaguars.
The Chiefs had plenty of chances to win this game, but thanks to penalty after penalty that forced them to long fields, they really kept fighting an uphill battle that they could not overcome. Of course, in the second half, the game changed on an ill-advised pass at the goal line by Patrick Mahomes that turned into a pick-six.
Though Kansas City made a nice fourth-quarter comeback, it gave the Jaguars too much time on their game-winning drive under two minutes with all three timeouts. After Kareem Hunt scored his second touchdown of the game, Trevor Lawrence had a short field and made two defining plays, one with a perfect pass down the sidelines and then scoring the winning touchdown with his legs.
Mahomes did his best, but Lawrence put his team on his back and attacked a very weak Chiefs defensive secondary. Outside of Trent McDuffie’s interception, the Jags took advantage of the Chiefs’ cornerbacks’ inability to locate or look back for the ball. It was by far their worst performance as a unit since the opener against the Chargers.
Kansas City should have won this game, and I don’t think the coaching staff respected the Jaguars enough. Their lack of adjustments, especially with their feeble pass rush, cost them another win. KC’s high-priced pass rushers, George Karlaftis and Chris Jones, were manhandled by an injury-plagued Jaguars offensive line.
At the onset of the game, the Chiefs appeared to be world beaters. After Nick Bolton knocked the ball out of the hands of Trevor Lawrence at the goal line, Mahomes engineered a perfect 98-yard drive, giving Kansas City a two-touchdown lead.
But the Jaguars stayed steady, never quit, and ultimately took advantage of all the mistakes the Chiefs made in the second half.
The worst part of this game is that the Chiefs had 478 yards of offense, compared to Jacksonville’s 319 yards. The Mahomes pick-six was the backbreaker, and had he made the tackle on Devin Lloyd, perhaps it’s a different game.
The Chiefs could have avoided the interception if Andy Reid had kept giving the ball to Kareem Hunt inside the five-yard line. He learned his lesson by handing it to Hunt on both fourth-quarter touchdowns. Still, it was too late.
Listen, so many players and coaches contributed to this loss, but Kansas City can’t keep losing to inferior teams. Still, the Chiefs had a chance to win, but when Butker kicked the ball out of bounds after the Chiefs took a 28-24 lead, he put his defense in a near-impossible situation.
For Mahomes, he’ll lament the pick six but probably be more upset about the fourth quarter pass with nine seconds he threw too soon to Hollywood Brown. Had he waited a tick longer, Brown would have turned his head and probably scored a touchdown on the play, dramatically ending the game.
This was a massive win for Jacksonville, who now own the tiebreaker over the Chiefs. This loss will sting, and the short week to prepare for the Detroit Lions’ offensive juggernaut heading to Arrowhead on Sunday Night could spell doom for the Chiefs if they lose that game, unless they get their act together.
The loss is going to sting, but the Chiefs’ margin for error continues to shrink with each loss. Yes, the AFC West is not good, but losing to a team they should have beaten by double digits forces Kansas City to be nearly flawless for the rest of the season.
Either way, they’d better regain their confidence with three straight home games before heading to Buffalo.
