Kansas City recorded its first win of the 2023-2024 NFL season in a defensive battle
Following their first week one loss in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Kansas City Chiefs had ten days of rest before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at noon. This game was penciled in as a must-win for the Chiefs, regardless of the week one result.
Jacksonville has a relatively easy schedule compared to the rest of the contending teams in the AFC. They play six games against the AFC South, which features two teams – the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts – with rookie quarterbacks who were selected in the top five of the NFL Draft, and a Tennessee Titans team that lost their last seven games of the 2022 season.
Additionally, they play four games against the NFC South, which projects to possibly be the weakest division in the entire league. Three of the four teams missed the playoffs last season and the team that didn’t, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lost their quarterback Tom Brady to retirement.
The weak schedule for Jacksonville gives it a leg up on the race for the conference’s number one seed, which guarantees home field advantage up to the Super Bowl. This has aided the Chiefs the past five years, as they’ve hosted the last five AFC Championship Games and have never played a road playoff game under the tenure of Patrick Mahomes.
The game had the looks of a shootout, as both offenses finished amongst the league’s best in 2022. The Chiefs had the number one ranked offense in every metric (EPA, DVOA and Points/Yards per Drive) and Jacksonville’s offense, led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, ascended as the season progressed. On the field, however, that was very opposite of what transpired. The defenses of the two teams shined and prevented the opposing offenses from scoring at will. This led to a Chiefs bounce back victory, winning by a score of 17-9.
What were some of the key components that led to the Chiefs victory and what prevented them from winning more definitively? In short, four key components.
The Defensive Maestro
The Chiefs defense was stellar once again, and acted as the driving force behind their victory in Jacksonville.
The Chiefs prevented Jacksonville from scoring a single touchdown the entire game, and its resiliency was tested both against the weather and in the red zone. Jacksonville’s offense played very quickly in order to prevent the Chiefs from making substitutions, wearing down the Chiefs’ defensive line in the 90 degree heat.
Whenever Jacksonville was able to march down the field, the Chiefs were able to contain them to just field goals, forced turnovers or punts. The Chiefs’ pass rushers were able to get to Lawrence and the secondary closed in on receivers quickly, using the sidelines and end zone boundary to their advantage.
Two of the bright spots for the Chiefs defense were their 2022 first round draftees, cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis. McDuffie was stellar in coverage, being targeted six times and only allowing three receptions for 20 yards, including a key stop in the end zone against Zay Jones. Karlaftis racked-up five pressures, 1.5 sacks, and three hurries in 53 of the Chiefs 66 defensive snaps.
Jacksonville had an offensive EPA per play of -0.259 and an offensive success rate of 39.4%, which ranked as the third and fifth worst ranks in the league in week two, a testament to the Chiefs success defensively.
The Return Of Chris Jones
Defensive tackle Chris Jones made his presence felt immediately upon his return. Any rust from holding out during training camp and preseason was non-existent. Jones held out as a result of an ongoing contract dispute, but returned to the Chiefs on an incentivized deal for the 2023 season.
Jones had six pressures, 1.5 sacks, four hurries, and a batted ball in 33 total snaps (29 in the pass rush) on Sunday. The Chiefs lined Jones up both on the inside and off the edge and he dominated in both spots.
Not only did Jones have a statistically dominant game himself, but his presence opened up opportunities for the rest of the defense, making everyone else’s responsibilities that much easier. Jones had a 40.7% pass rush win rate in his first game back, which ranks atop the league. He is able to bring instant pressure, which hurries the quarterback’s process, making it easier for the rest of the pass rush to get home and the coverage to hold up.
Jones’ dominance is even more impressive considering he only played in 33 of the Chiefs 66 defensive snaps, meaning he only played half the time. As the season progresses, he should see more action, resulting in more success.
The Rushing Attack
The Chiefs started off the game extremely pass heavy, completely neglecting the running game.
However, after seeing the struggles they had throwing the ball, the Chiefs turned to the ground in the second half, and it was very effective. They had a positive EPA per play on the ground of 0.071, which was the twelfth best mark in the league during week two.
Second year running back Isiah Pacheco was especially impressive. Pacheco had 12 carries for 73 yards, generating an extremely efficient 6.1 yards per carry. Pacheco had 38 yards that came after contact, which speaks to his ability to shed tackles and gain extra yardage.
Concern: The Passing Game
Despite coming out with the win, the Chiefs passing offense struggled once again against the Jaguars.
The Chiefs offense had a 37.5% success rate, which was second to last in the entire NFL during week two. To make matters worse, it is the lowest mark of the 96 games the Chiefs have played since Mahomes took over as the team’s starting quarterback in 2018. The week one game against the Lions ranked 92 in that sample.
Patrick Mahomes has had a ton of time to throw, as he’s eighth amongst quarterbacks with 3.05 seconds per attempt. The protection has not been the issue for the Chiefs. The issue instead rests on the shoulders of the skill position groups not performing up to expectations, and defenses are aware of this.
They’d rather drop multiple players in coverage and give Mahomes time, knowing that the receivers will struggle to get open. As a result, several plays are squandered by the offense.
It’s tough to come up with a remedy for this issue. The Chiefs were very confident in the players they had entering the season. It will be interesting to see whether or not the issues get ironed out over the season or if the Chiefs make a move for a veteran receiver at the trade deadline.
It is early, but the early returns from the Chiefs offense looks to be the worst it’s ever been under the Mahomes-Reid pairing.
Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com