David Bell

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Warm-up For Jaguars at Chiefs

Arrowhead Stadium, K.C. Missouri

I spent time watching the pre-game coverage for the game on NBC. They did a good job, promoted some hype, and covered the head coaches and some players as the game rolled in. I was glad to get to that point and was anxious to get to the Kickoff. An hour before the game, snow and sleet fell on Arrowhead Stadium. Within 15 minutes, it came down as large snowflakes. It will be a winter atmosphere in Kansas City for the Division Round Game. The giant snowflakes fell off as we watched, but you could see sleet or rain falling on the broadcasters. This was about 30 minutes before Kickoff. The Temperature at the Game Time was 38 degrees.

Reminder: Andy Reid’s Record

Andy Reid’s teams are 9-1 coming off a bye. The Chiefs are going to make that 10-1 today. Book It! My son Ian, predicted the score to be 31-21. Ah, but his top team is the Packers. His second team in the AFC is the Chiefs. I am the reverse of that as I am writing this before the Kickoff to give a score construct of 34 – 20. After Mahomes was injured, I decided the margin would be about one score, but not 3-points. More on that as the game unfolds.

Officiating Crew

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Hochuli is far better for an officiating crew. A couple of the others would be terrible choices for the Chiefs. The best way to handle Zebras is to play flawless football. The Chiefs had such a game this season already. Do It Again!

The Coin Toss

I expected that if the Chiefs won the coin toss, they would defer, and if the Jags won, they’d choose to receive the game’s first Kickoff. And that’s how it turned out. No Matter. I am officially excited for the game to start. It’s the 7th season in a row that the Chiefs have played at least one game at Arrowhead in post-season play. GO CHIEFS!

Game View: Quarter One

On Jaguar’s first possession, they went three-and-out. Then, on 3rd and 3, Lawrence’s pass was nearly picked off by Nick Bolton. After the Punt, the Chiefs drove the field into the red zone. On almost a miracle pass, while in the grasp, Mahomes completes a pass to Travis Kelce to get a first down. Two plays later, the Chiefs score.

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Mahomes hits Kelce at the 7-yard line, and Kelce drives into the end-zone.

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PAT – Harrison Butker. Score 7-0 Chiefs. Adam Teicher Tweet:

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The game was challenging, though, as the Jaguars returned a Butker kick-off to the Chiefs 42. A special teams breakdown. The Jags secured a first down near the 11 on the run by Jags RB Travis Etienne (pronounced: E-T-N). Lawrence then threw a TD over George Karlaftis for their first score. That was a horrid match-up for coverage. GK was trailing Kirk, but what would you expect Spags? What were you thinking? Score: Chiefs 7, Jaguars 7. I am unhappy with that possession, special teams, and the defense.

The Chiefs next possession saw Mahomes ankle sprain. A Jags player, Arden Key, fell on his right ankle. Mahomes was able to continue. The Chiefs were fortunate to get 3 points though. 10-7, Chiefs.

Now the game is in the 2nd Quarter.

Quarter Two

Turn that around to the Jag’s next possession, they drove the ball effectively, again, with screens and short passes. We are now in the 2nd Quarter. They were driving, but a tripping penalty set them back.

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Frank Clark got a sack (the Chiefs only had two sacks of the game, the other was by Derrick Nnadi), and the Chiefs defense pushed the Jags out of Field Goal range. 3rd and 10, failed, which was great. Unfortunately, Kadarius Toney did not field the Punt, and the Jags downed the ball at the 2-yard line. That made that whole Jags possession frustrating.

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Inside the 11-minute mark and the Chiefs took over the ball. Mahomes headed to the locker room to have his ankle X-rayed. Back-up QB Chad Henne is now under center starting at the Chiefs two yard line. The Chiefs got a first down on the first series of snaps, and again on the second, which was a Henne pass to Toney to get the 2nd first down. Mahomes is now back on the sidelines watching. The X-ray was negative, and he got a re-tape job while in the training room. Chiefs again, 3rd and 3; they called a time out. Andy Reid is leaving Chad Henne in the game. The Chiefs continued to drive.

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Henne passed to Kelce for a 1st down, but the Jags were called for a roughing-the-passer penalty, so, 1st down, and 15 yards tacked on. A running play was followed by a run by Isiah Pacheco, who ran the ball on a 39-yard breakaway to the 5-yard line.

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Pacheco ran to the 4, and after that Henne completed a pass to Kelce for the TD. After a penalty, Butker made the FG from 5 yards deeper. Chiefs 17, Jaguars 7. Mahomes was ruled as a player “Questionable to return” just before this Chiefs score.

As the clock ran down to the 2-minute warning, Lawrence took a deep shot to Kirk, which he could not hall in. I noted that safety Juan Thornhill was not in a position to be able to make a play. That was an error on his part, and the Chiefs were fortunate to force a 3rd down. However, I remained unhappy with the defense overall. They are not playing well. They are not stopping the screens and running plays. They are not getting pressure on Lawrence. On the other hand, the defense held the Jags to 20 points or under – my magic number.

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Games are Won in the Trenches

Finally, on the last series, the Chiefs got a stop. Nick Bolton had a PBU from which he was slow in getting up. The Jags made a FG making the score 17-10. There were about 30 seconds left to play. Ordinarily, I’d think the Chiefs would have a chance to move into scoring range after the Kickoff, but they let the clock run out and headed to the locker room with a 7-point lead.

The Chiefs Receive the Second Half Kickoff

One first thought is that having Henne at the helm shifted the Jaguar defensive plan from what they had been doing, and Chad engineered a 98-yard TD drive (a record for the Chiefs). My second thought is that though I judge the defense to have been lacking, they held the Jags to only 10 points while scoring 17 by the half.

Third Quarter

As the Quarter opened, Mahomes was back at the helm. He was throwing of a tender right foot. See the ankle wrap in this photo.

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They got the 1st down on the first series but failed on the 2nd and punted the ball away. Tommy Townsend had a great punt, and the Jags were stopped at about the 15 yard-line. The Jags made a 1st down, and the Chiefs got a stop. However, they still have not figured out how to anticipate Etienne’s running plays. Khalen Sanders got an outstanding QB hit on Lawrence. However, his 3rd down pass flew awry. The Punt gives the Chiefs their next possession at about the 20 yard-line.

An observation about the Jags: Trevor Lawrence is blossoming under Doug Pederson. This late season is a career-making time for him.

The Chiefs drove on first down, and Pacheco appeared to have a first down. The Zebras marked him short. It was 3rd and inches, and Andy Reid threw the challenge flag. The Challenge was denied and K.C. lost a timeout. The next play was a sneak by Gray, who failed to pick up the 1st down. The Chiefs Punt and I think it was a debatable spot on that play, as well. That was, indeed, a disappointing possession. The Chiefs got a stop as the clock wound down to 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd Quarter. The teams exchanged punts. The Chiefs were driving, but set back on a penalty against JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Mahomes hit Kelce to get inside the 35-yard line and Butker kicked a FG making the score 20-10. After the kick, the Jags started at the 25. Derrick Nnadi burst through unblocked and got the only sack on Jags QB, Trevor Lawrence on the first down for about a 10-yard loss. Wow. It was then 2nd and about 20. The clock advanced to the 4th Quarter with the Chiefs leading: 20-to-10.

Fourth Quarter

Trevor Lawrence was sacked on the first play from Scrimmage by Khalen Saunders. But Lawrence escaped the pass rush on the next play Lawrence connected. Then, the chiefs were called for pass interference on getting a first down, and Lawrence connected. The penalty was declined. The ball at the 4, Etienne runs in for the score. After the PAT, Chiefs: 20, Jaguars 17.

Chiefs possessed the ball at the 25, two first downs later, they are across the 50-yard line. A 5-yard play and a 5-yard penalty gave the Chiefs a second and a foot. The Mahomes hit JuJu for 15 yards, and then Pacheco ran for about 7. Mahomes then tossed to Toney, who evaded tackles and ran the ball inside the 5-yard line. A run play was stuffed for a loss. On 2nd and Goal from the 7-yard line, Mahomes did a jump pass and hit MVS for a TD. After the Butker PAT: Chiefs 27, Jaguars 17.

This game is not done. The Jaguars are a good football team now, as the close of their season has proven.

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Butker’s kick goes short. Harrison Butker saves a TD. JAX starts their possession at the 45-yard line with about 7 minutes left in the game. I admit it, I am watching food commercials and getting hungry. Sheesh. This possession will likely determine how this game ends. A stop gives the Chiefs a good shot to close it out. On the first play, Juan Thornhill has a PBU. The secondary is now working to make plays, able to predict the play (my view). In the collision on that play, Kirk is hurt and leaves the field. Then Lawrence hits two passes, and suddenly the Jags are threatening, again. Thornhill has a PBU in the end-zone that could have been an INT. The next pass was incomplete, then Lawrence, under pressure, flees the pocket for a 1st down at the 9-yard line. The next play by Lawrence is a complete pass and fumble. The Chiefs recover. L’Jarius Sneed was injured in the play.

On this possession, it goes to 3rd and one. JAX has used two timeouts. The Jags stop Pacheco on a running play. The Chiefs Punt by Tommy Townsend is kicked from the end-zone. The ball is downed at the 45-yard line with the clock under 4:30. On the second play, Jaylen Watson picks off Lawrence.

The Chiefs get the ball, and it 7 yards. Then a pass to Toney gains about 10 for a first down. The Jags cannot stop the clock. Doug Pederson uses his last timeout. The next two plays are running plays. The clock ticks down to the 2-minute warning. K.C. runs the ball again, and Andy Reid lets the clock run down to 1:15 before calling a timeout. With 1:04 left, after a punt, the Jaguars take over and run a few plays, getting into FG range. Lawrence spikes the ball to stop the clock with 42 ticks left. The Jaguars kick a FG. Chiefs 27-Jags 20. An Onside kick ensues with 25 seconds left and their kick attempt fails.

Chiefs win 27-20.

A much more challenging game than the fans wanted. The Jaguars are going to be a tough team in 2023. However, Trevor Lawrence made considerable improvements in his game over the past 7. I was impressed by what I saw as their season ended, and the Jags got to the playoffs and knocked off the Chargers in the wild-card round, 31-30.

I wonder how it would have ended if Mahomes wasn’t injured in the game. Oh well! Chad Henne did us proud with his 98-yard TD Drive.

The spread was 9.5. How’d you bet?

I had the under. KC was blessed that the injury to Mahomes was not serious and that they Chad Henne as their #2 QB.

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David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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Editor’s P.S. Right after the game, when coming off the field, Reid received a hug from his wife at the 2:20 mark of this video below. Who else did she hug? Several players, first among them was JuJu Smith-Schuster at the 3:20 mark and later came, Patrick Mahomes, Frank Clark, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce, all starting at the 7:22 mark. Video is provided by “The Ship” with Darren Smith.

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Editor’s Final Note: I hope this means the Chiefs will be taking a personal interest in getting JuJu re-signed this coming offseason. JuJu? Yes. Frank Clark? I’m not so sure. Chris Jones? Absolutely. Kelce? Extend him now, even though his current contract goes through 2025.

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