KTGR ESPN 100.5 FM & 1580 AM
The Kansas City Chiefs are 7-2 after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17. Here’s three takeaways from that ballgame:
It’s Patrick Mahomes’s MVP to Lose
After the first few games of the season, it was safe to say that the Chiefs offense would still be good enough without Tyreek Hill to make a playoff splash. Nine games in and two games off the bye week, though, it’s time to take it further: there is an established pecking order in the MVP race, and Patrick Mahomes is at the very top of that list.
Hats off to the Chiefs front office, they’ve taken the proper steps to set Mahomes up for success. Look no further than the day Kadarius Toney had: 90 all purpose yards and one touchdown for the low low price of a compensatory third round pick and a sixth round pick.
Too easy
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) November 13, 2022
#Chiefs Kadarius Toney asked if he feels more involved in KC than NYC: “I don’t wanna throw no salt but yeah”
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv) November 13, 2022
Taking a chance on Juju Smith-Schuster has paid off as well, giving Mahomes a new reliable number one target not named “Travis Kelce” and signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling has helped bring back the deep passing plays.
Spread the love!
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) November 13, 2022
It wasn’t a perfect performance for Mahomes, especially with that last interception, a four touchdown performance is a four touchdown performance (and sans the Pacheco fumble in the first quarter it probably would have been five). At this point only Mahomes can have a day described as a “quiet 4 touchdown performance.” Have a day, 15. Keep letting the league know that you’re QB1 with a bullet.
See, this guy gets it.
The Jags Never Had a Chance
Okay maybe that isn’t entirely true, just about any team in the NFL has a chance of getting one over on another (see: The Indianapolis Colts) and the Jags are no exception. I like Doug Peterson a lot as a head coach. I think Trevor Lawrence has a decent shot of being the best QB in the AFC South if he isn’t already…though his only competition is Ryan Tannehill. The pieces are there for the Jags to try and rise up in the next couple of years, and they are far from a pushover team this season with wins over 2 AFC West teams already, a comeback over the Las Vegas Raiders and a domination of the “heir apparent” Los Angeles Chargers. For three and a half quarters, however, the Chiefs proved that they still have a long long road to trek before they can start playing the upset card for the AFC’s top brass.
The Jags started the game off doing what any self-respecting underdog would do: maximizing their possessions by gunning for and recovering(!) an opening kickoff onside kick to give them good field position and give them the ball back to start the second half. The Chiefs, for their part, would not sanction this buffoonery and kept them from scoring any points on their opening drive. After that, the Chiefs offense asserted themselves over a defense with some talented pieces but not enough to hang with Patrick Mahomes and his pass catchers.
On the defensive side, the pass rush was keyed in and locked on to Trevor Lawrence, getting him onto the turf five times. The CEO of Sack Nation Chris Jones made a strong argument for a contract extension, Khalen Saunders made his presence known as well, making it clear that he is going to be a useful piece for this defense if he can keep this level of play up, and we saw some fun payoffs off linebacker blitzes from Willie Gay and rookie Leo Chenal. Rookie corner Trent McDuffie had himself a game, too, making that Rashad Fenton trade make more and more sense as he continues to grow as a key piece of this young secondary.
What makes it all the more remarkable is that the Jags didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes. They had the upper hand in the turnover battle to go along with that snazzy onside kick recovery but it still didn’t matter. The Jags still failed to cover nine and a half points pre-determined by Vegas, which isn’t the most exact science on Earth but it’s a fun ballpark estimate game by game, and the Chiefs successfully kept them at arm’s length all afternoon. It’s what you want after a couple of hiccups against AFC South teams this season. If the Chiefs can keep cleaning it up, they won’t have to worry about another team playing the upstart.
The Chiefs Now Control Their Own Playoff Destiny
Losing to the Buffalo Bills wasn’t the end of the world for the Chiefs, but it made their chances of swiping the 1 seed in the AFC and the only bye on their side of the playoff bracket a steep hill to climb. The Chiefs held their end of the bargain by going undefeated since the Bills game. The Bills held their end of the bargain by being on the wrong end of some one score games, including this past week against the Minnesota Vikings that featured some all timer fourth quarter and overtime moments. It made for some good television and it made for an extra shot of confidence in the Chiefs that they could still clinch the top of the AFC without owning the Bills tiebreaker.
There’s still plenty of season left, plenty of time for things to go butts-up *knock on wood*, but this is definitely what you want if you’re the Chiefs: back in the driver’s seat with the toughest part of the schedule passing you by. Buckle up, this race to the finish could be one for the ages.
Up next, the Chiefs head to LA to face the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
