KC Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: NFL Week 2 Preview and Predictions
The Kansas City Chiefs are still searching for their first win of the young NFL season, and they face a tall task in handling the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.
These two squads squared off against each other twice this past campaign — once in the regular season and once in the playoffs — with Kansas City coming away with the victory on both occasions. Despite that, Doug Pederson's Jaguars team displayed quite a bit of fight and quarterback Trevor Lawrence also ascended to a new tier with some of his high-level peers around the league. A 9-8 Jacksonville group from last year is already off to a 1-0 start in 2023, setting the scene for one of the most exciting matchups of the weekend.
How will today's game unfold? The Arrowhead Report crew makes their predictions.
Nov 13, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates after a play during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Joshua Brisco: This game has enormous consequences for the AFC playoff picture, even in Week 2. The Jaguars have a chance to solidify themselves early in the race for the top spots in the AFC and the Chiefs could start their title defense 0-2, putting them in a terrible position to start the year. Ultimately, I think both teams leave this game looking like title contenders, but the Chiefs' pass-catchers find redemption (with a lot of help from the returning Travis Kelce) and the defense holds up just well enough (with perhaps slightly less help from the returning Chris Jones) for the Chiefs to win a tight game by one possession.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Jaguars 24
Jordan Foote: The simple way to make a prediction here is to say that it's extremely difficult to see the Chiefs beginning their season 0-2. Getting two of the team's three best players back in the fold will undoubtedly help against a potent Jaguars team on the road. Trevor Lawrence and company should put up a serious fight in a rematch of two meetings from the 2022-23 campaign, but the same story will unfold in the trilogy. Expect Kansas City's offense to display a more efficient effort and even if Steve Spagnuolo's defense doesn't replicate its success from the opener a week ago, it should still do enough to help secure the win.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Jaguars 24
Mark Van Sickle: As crazy as it sounds, the Chiefs need this win more than the Jaguars. However, like many teams in the NFL, a win against the Chiefs would mean more to the Jags franchise and fan base to help “legitimize” their squad. On paper, the Jags' offense could bring more challenges to the Chiefs' defense that held the Lions to two touchdowns. The good news is Chris Jones will be back in the mix.
The Chiefs' offense should also get back on track with Travis Kelce set to make his regular season debut. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Andy Reid try and get the ball to Kelce early in the game to set the tone, but I also think he will look to mix in Kadarius Toney early as everyone tries to move on from last week’s debacle. It’s hard for me to believe Patrick Mahomes allows the Chiefs to start the season 0-2. He will carry this team if he needs to, and the Chiefs will come out on top.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Jaguars 27
Zack Eisen: After a disastrous opening game, the Chiefs get Travis Kelce and Chris Jones back as they travel to Jacksonville. Kansas City has familiarity with the Jaguars as they played them twice last year, including in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Expect a bounce-back game for the Chiefs, especially on offense. Getting Kelce back is an obvious boost, but the wide receivers should play infinitely better than they did last week. If the defense can have a similar performance to last week and add Jones on top of that, the Chiefs could win this game comfortably. The team knows 0-2 would be an unacceptable start.
Prediction: Chiefs 34, Jaguars 23
Conner Christopherson: The Chiefs head into Week 2 looking for their first win, which is a bit shocking. It doesn’t help that the opponent is an up-and-coming Jaguars team that has a quarterback seemingly ready to take a huge step up this year. However, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce are back. Despite it probably not being their full-capacity roles this week, the two All-Pros certainly will provide juice in the pass rush and the passing game that the Chiefs needed at times against the Lions. While the Jaguars will be a good team this year, I think the Chiefs are motivated and locked in this week to ensure they don’t go 0-2. I am watching Kadarius Toney this week and how his bounce-back game looks. I feel he is a key to the game in many ways.
Prediction: Chiefs 38, Jaguars 30
Marlow Ferguson Jr.: Even if they aren’t in peak form for this high-stakes Week 2 clash, the mental boost the Kansas City Chiefs should get from having Travis Kelce and Chris Jones back just can’t be understated. Ten days of rest and preparation — and thus 10 days to hear about all of the ways they came up short in the opener — should do wonders for this group. One could expect the motivated Jaguars to match the Chiefs for a short while, particularly with that potent Lawrence-Ridley grouping. But, this game has the feel of one where Kadarius Toney and the WR group bounce back, the Chiefs iron out the blocking and third-and-short issues, and KC flexes its muscles to avoid an 0-2 hole.
Prediction: Chiefs 28, Jaguars 24
