Chiefs Down Jaguars With Strong Defense In Ugly Win

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The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 1-1 with a road win on Sunday over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was not the prettiest of victories, by any means. Yet, Kansas City figured out how to make some adjustments and finished strong. That is something that can carry over to the Chiefs’ benefit in future weeks, while still working to improve on notable mistakes from Sunday.

More importantly, the Chiefs got into the win column, while other top AFC contenders and division rivals fell to 0-2. Kansas City obviously understands how hard it is to win in this league. Though, this road victory over a dynamic challenger who is a likely contender in the conference will look a lot better as the season progresses.

What were some of the top moments and headlines to look back on from this win in Jacksonville? We will look back on the Chiefs defense and their terrific effort. Plus, what led to some late offensive success when first downs were needed? Let’s kick it off.

Defense Creates Pressure, Shuts Door In Red Zone

Could the Chiefs have a potential top-ten defense? With such a young group, overall, it is encouraging to see how quickly Kansas City has gelled on that side of the ball. The secondary has largely maintained leverage and stayed in position the first two weeks. Elsewhere, the linebacker depth has already lived up to expectations. Nick Bolton continues to be a wrecking ball, doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Leo Chenal has stood out with tremendous reactionary quickness and spatial awareness. Finally, a handful of defensive linemen have already got out to solid starts when rushing the passer.

In total, the Chiefs sacked Trevor Lawrence four times on Sunday. The returning Chris Jones and George Karlaftis each tallied 1.5 sacks. Mike Danna and the rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah each had 0.5 sacks as well. On top of that, Kansas City did a good job of tackling in space and not getting lost when needing to hold contain.

When you look at how the Chiefs created pressure in this contest against the Jaguars, Kansas City was able to win with their base defense. For the most part, Lawrence was not able to escape the pocket, either laterally or by stepping up.

Kansas City was also airtight when backed up in the red zone. The Jacksonville offense only scored three field goals all day long. However, the Jaguars did not have any successful red zone trips out of three total attempts. This comes with the Chiefs losing the turnover battle three to one, to boot.

Returning Stars Make Immediate Difference

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The aforementioned Jones and Travis Kelce each made their regular season debut in Jacksonville. After missing Week 1, each star made an immediate difference for Kansas City. That may not necessarily be shocking. Yet, the way in which they each made an impact was perfectly timed.

Jones not only tallied 1.5 sacks. He added a couple of quarterback hits and a key pass breakup. His pressure was felt immensely numerous times. And even if he did not get all the way home, other defenders were there to make a crunching finish. With Jones back in the fold, the Chiefs held Jacksonville to a combined three out of 14 on third or fourth down attempts. The Jaguars will surely rue those metrics when looking back at this one-score loss.

On the flip side, Travis Kelce made his presence felt in similar ways to what we are used to. His numbers will not blow anyone away. But, Kelce created some damage with his legs after the catch. He created some damage by adjusting his routes and finding the soft spots in zones. Finally, Kelce was able to give the Chiefs a key boost by fighting hard for extra yards on a couple of catches.

Mahomes Extends Plays Late

It was not the best of performances for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But when it mattered most in the second half, the signal caller relied on his legs and improvisation to extend drives and move the chains. The most notable play was just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

On a 3rd and 6, Mahomes scrambled to his right, stopped on a dime with a Jacksonville linebacker near his face, and delivered it to a wide open Skyy Moore. It was a 54-yard gain on what was a key day for Moore, who also hauled in a touchdown reception. This 54-yard play iced the game and ended any hope that the Jaguars may have still had.

Other plays late saw Mahomes step up in the pocket to evade pressure or escape laterally to run for first downs. His 30 rushing yards trailed only Isiah Pacheco (70 rushing yards) for most team rushing yards on the day. Lastly, the Kansas City quarterback was able to extend the throwing windows for his pass catchers when the Chiefs needed a conversion.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.