Chiefs 17, Jaguars 9: Offense Goes Stagnant in Playoff Rematch

The Jaguars beat themselves in Week 2.

The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn't get past the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday -- largely because they couldn't get out of their own way. 

Three turnovers by Kansas City -- including one at the 17 -- and a barrage of penalties on Jawaan Taylor couldn't push the Jaguars past the Chiefs, with the offense going limp in a deflating 17-9 loss.

The Jaguars had a first down from the Chiefs' 46 after a 17-yard gain from Evan Engram, but a drop by Calvin Ridley on second down forced the Jaguars into a third-down scenario. 

The Chiefs took advantage of rookie right tackle Anton Harrison's youth and inexperience, too, lining up Chris Jones over the rookie. Jones forced Lawrence to step up and into a sack by Mike Danna and Georga Karlaftis to force a punt. 

The Jaguars got their first sense of momentum at the start of the second half, with wide receiver Tim Jones recovering a muffed punt from Richie James at the Chiefs' own 17-yard line. 

After a false start on Travis Etienne and then a failed third-down where Zay Jones was unable to get his second foot in-bounds in the end-zone, the Jaguars settled for a 32-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to take a 3-0 lead. 

Then ... things got weird. 

Darious Williams forced a Justin Watson fumble on a big catch-and-run, with the ball landing in Foyesade Oluokun's hands and giving the Jaguars great field position due to a Travis Kelce penalty after the fact. 

Despite the gift, the Jaguars fumbled away the opportunity -- literally. Jacksonville went with a predictable Jamal Agnew jet screen, with Agnew losing control of the ball and fumbling it right back to the Chiefs.

But after a fumbled snap and a false start on Jawaan Taylor, the turnover bug hit again as Andre Cisco picked off Patrick Mahomes downfield. 

For the third time in the half, though, the Jaguars failed to take the game away from the Chiefs. After picking up several first downs, the Jaguars ran into self-inflicted issues. A second-down double pass from Christian Kirk to Travis Etienne lost a yard, while Lawrence was then sacked on fourth down to turn the ball over. 

After the Jaguars managed a 49-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to close the half (thanks to a Ridley catch for 26 yards), the Chiefs came out of the locker room with their hair on fire. 

Isaiah Pacheco popped off a 31-yard run on the first play of the half, shortly followed by a 34-yard catch from Watson on 3rd-and-10 to advance into Jaguars territory. A few plays later, Travis Kelce made his first big play of the day with a nine-yard touchdown catch.

Jacksonville stormed back after a series of penalties on former Jaguars right tackle Jawaan Taylor, though, with a 45-yard Lawrence missle to Kirk getting the Jaguars into scoring range. A pass interference drawn by Evan Engrad led to 1st-and-Goal from the one, but again the Jaguars' offense didn't do what was needed. 

After a read option on first down lost three yards, the Jaguars proceeded to throw two incomplete passes before settling for a 22-yard field goal from McManus to cut the Chiefs' lead to 14-9. 

After Harrison Butker hit a 38-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-9, the Jaguars attempted a last-ditch effort to put points on the board. First down catches by Kirk and Evan Engram -- as well as an 18-yard scramble from Lawrence -- brought the Jaguars to the Chiefs' 14-yard line, but Lawrence's woeful day in the red-zone continued as his fourth-down attempt to Ridley was incomplete. 

This is only the second time the Jaguars have failed to score at least 14 points in 21 games under Doug Pederson, barely passing last year's 6-point effort vs. the Houston Texans. 

The Jaguars (1-1) will face the Texans at home in Week 3 in a rematch from last year's Week 6 loss at home. 

Stats of the Game (9/17/23 vs. the Chiefs) Via: @theryanmichael

Trevor Lawrence finished the game 22 of 41 (53.7%) for 216 yards (5.3 YPA), 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 4 sacks and a 68.8 passer rating.

Travis Etienne was limited to 3.3 yards per carry (12 carries for 40 yards).

Christian Kirk led the Jaguars in receptions (11) and receiving yards (110).

Devin Lloyd led the Jaguars with 11 total tackles.

Foyesade Oluokun finished second with 10 total tackles.

Andre Cisco intercepted Patrick Mahomes in addition to defending 2 passes and recording 2 total tackles.