Who the Chiefs' Monday Night Opponent Should Remind Them Of

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – They have three one-score wins, all in ugly fashion. They’ve gotten the benefit of turnovers and penalties, they have a speedy rookie wide receiver, and their defense has excelled.

Remind you of anyone?

The Chiefs might as well jump in a time machine rather than boarding a plane for Jacksonville this weekend. When the teams clash on Monday Night Football this week, the Jaguars should look a lot like the 2024 Chiefs.

Sep 14, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) calls a play in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Striking resemblance to '24 Chiefs

Jacksonville is 3-1, and easily could be 4-0. The Jaguars also could easily be 0-4. They’ve had heated on-field exchanges, and their quarterback – Trevor Lawrence – has struggled to move the offense while dealing with a key injury in the wide-receiver room. Dyami Brown’s shoulder injury sidelined him in last week’s win at San Francisco.

Needless to say, the final game on the NFL’s Week 5 schedule shapes up for an interesting matchup.

Travis Hunter, that dynamic rookie wide receiver, is also a dynamic rookie cornerback. New general manager James Gladstone traded up to draft the Heisman Trophy winner at No. 2 overall, sending a future first-round pick to Cleveland.

Travis Hunter

Four games into his career, Hunter has yet to author a breakout game, playing 58 percent of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps and 39 percent on defense. On offense, he has 13 catches for 118 yards (9.1 avg.), with no touchdowns, no carries and a fumble. He also has just one pass defensed as a cornerback.

Rest assured, Steve Spagnuolo doesn’t want to go down in history as the defensive coordinator to surrender the rookie’s initial NFL touchdown. Neither does Patrick Mahomes, who’s thrown only one interception – off the hands of Travis Kelce on the goal line – this season.

Sep 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) calls a play during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

When Mahomes doesn’t throw an interception, the Chiefs have won 12 of their last 13 games, including playoffs. The Jaguars, however, are the NFL’s best takeaway team this season, leading the league in interceptions (nine), total takeaways (13) and turnover margin (plus-nine).

Travis Etienne vs. Steve Spagnuolo

Likely the more significant matchup on Monday will be Spagnuolo’s run defense against Travis Etienne. The Jaguars’ veteran has had a career resurgence. His 394 rushing yards rank third in the NFL, and he has two 100-yard rushing games over the season’s first four weeks.

Spagnuolo, meanwhile, hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 23 straight games entering Monday, since Lamar Jackson had 122 in Week 1 of the ’24 season. A running back hasn’t reached triple digits on the Chiefs in 30 consecutive games, including postseason, since the Raiders’ Zamir White ran for 145 on Christmas Day in 2023, a 20-14 home loss to Las Vegas.

That streak includes Christian McCaffrey in Super Bowl 58 as well as two games each against Joe Mixon, James Cook, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.

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