Grading the Jaguars' performance against the Kansas City Chiefs based on execution, effort and game circumstances.
Defense: C-plus Mike Caldwell’s unit did an admirable job in a tough environment, holding the Chiefs to 362 yards, which is 51 below their average. They got enough stops to give the Jaguars a chance to pull off the upset, but did allow a killer 98-yard drive in the second quarter when backup QB Chad Henne, a former Jaguar, had to replace an injured Patrick Mahomes for one series that turned out to be pivotal in the outcome.
Mahomes stayed in on a bum ankle to finish a field-goal drive for a 10-7 lead, but Henne delivered maybe the biggest march of the Chiefs’ season on KC’s next possession. He led a 12-play, 98-yard drive, culminated with a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who finished with 14 catches for 98 yards and a pair of scores.The defense not forcing a punt in that situation was a huge setback. Unlike the three takeaways the defense got in November against the Chiefs, that didn’t happen this time. Linebacker Foye Oluokun had the best chance on a ball tipped by Davon Hamilton, but couldn’t hang on.Still, as the game tightened up in the fourth quarter, he led a 75-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard TD pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 27-17 lead.Without Heath Farwell’s unit, the Chiefs would likely have sealed the outcome a lot sooner. The Jaguars continue to get clutch returns from Agnew, who went 63 yards untouched on a kickoff until forced out of bounds by Jaylen Watson. That set up the Jaguars’ first touchdown to tie things up at 7-7. He also nearly broke one for a touchdown after the Chiefs went up 27-17, barely getting clipped by kicker Harrison Butker at the Jaguars’ 42 to save a touchdown. The punt team also provided what should have been a huge play when Logan Cooke deposited a ball near the goal line, where Chris Claybrooks kept the ball out of the end zone and Daniel Thomas downed it on the KC 2.Cooke had four punts for a respectable 42-yard net average and also handled all four of the Jaguars’ deep kickoffs. Riley Patterson hit field goal attempts of 41 and 48 yards, but had an unsuccessful onside kick at the end that was recovered by Kadarius Toney.It’s hard to quibble too much of what Doug Pederson did from a play-calling standpoint. Without the big turnovers from Agnew and Lawrence in the final six minutes, the Jaguars might have had a shot at pulling off the upset. The resilient mindset in previous comebacks that we witnessed at TIAA Bank Field was still there at Arrowhead. It just didn’t have the same storybook ending. The Jaguars needed to play their best game of the season to beat the Chiefs in this setting and the players simply didn’t do enough to make it happen. That’s on them, not so much the coaching staff, which can’t do anything about Agnew not securing the ball or Kirk dropping that long pass. The Jaguars got off to a decent enough start, avoiding the 20-0 hole they dug for themselves in their last trip to Kansas City. Pederson’s team sent a clear message from the outset that this would be a 60-minute contest. But as with most NFL games, two or three plays in KC’s favor ended up being the difference.
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