Jaguars offense presents a big challenge for Chiefs
Plus transactions, latest KCSN podcasts, Substack articles and more Chiefs news.
Charles Goldman
The Kansas City Chiefs have seen a lot of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the last calendar year.
Their last meeting came in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. The Chiefs escaped that game with a win over Jacksonville, but they also came away extremely impressed with that team. It all starts with the quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who has begun to separate himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the National Football League.
“He gets better and better,” Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo explained. “(Jaguars Head Coach) Doug (Pederson) does a great job with him. The thing that always stands out, and this stood out when we played – he’s huge. He’s big, he’s a big strong quarterback that can run. I showed a clip this morning (where) he runs, he didn’t slide, he’s running over people. He’s in the pocket, people get around him, and he’s getting out. He’s just a big strong guy that can throw the football. I just see a really – I thought he was great when he was in college and knew he’d be a good player. He just looks like he gets more and more confident.”
One new piece they’ve added since the last matchup is WR Calvin Ridley, who was reinstated after a year-long gambling suspension. Ridley had eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, which was the best receiving performance on the day for Jacksonville.
“I know if I’m that quarterback and you have a guy like that and you have a game like you did last week, I got to believe you’re going to keep looking to him,” Spagnuolo said. “Yet you commit too many people to that one person, and they got a lot – this is a skilled – might be as skilled of an offense as we’re going to play all year.”
The Chiefs will have their work cut out for them on the defensive side of the ball this week.
The Process - Former Chiefs WR Kevin Lockett on How to Bounce Back From Receiving Woes
Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Shawn Barber and former wide receiver Kevin Lockett talk about the Chiefs Week 1 loss against the Detroit Lions and how to move on from a loss. Later, Kevin talks about his son, Tyler Lockett, and what is going on in Seattle, plus the guys take a look around the league and give advice to fathers coaching their sons.
On short-yardage struggles:
Short-yardage plays were an emphasis for the Chiefs all offseason, and when it came time to put it to the test in Week 1, they fell flat on their face. Matt Nagy explained that no matter how challenging, they’ve got to find a way to execute in those situations with consistency.
"It’s usually tough to get one yard in those got-to-have-it situations,” Nagy said. “That said, whether it’s a run or a pass, it’s about the execution, it’s about doing whatever you need to do to get that one yard. You watch games across the league, it is not easy so we just need to do whatever we can to make sure whether it’s a run or a pass whatever, that we are finding a way to move the sticks on third and one, however that is, we need to do it and we understand that last week wasn’t good enough and we need to get better there.”
It’s clearly back to the drawing board for the entire offensive coaching staff.
On the Lions’ fake punt in Week 1:
A big turning point in the Week 1 game against the Lions came when the Lions executed a successful fake punt deep in their own territory. The defense couldn’t stop Detroit after the fake, with all the momentum on their side.
Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub said the team practiced for that exact circumstance, but they still fell short when it came up.
“I was really disappointed with the fake just because we worked so hard on – we invested a lot of time on it. It wasn’t like we were tricked or anything, but our guys reacted well, we just didn’t make the play. They made a play, we didn’t. It was a gutsy call, a good call. It is what it is, but I wasn’t surprised by anything they did. I thought our punter punted great and (our) kicker kicked great and we covered well.”
It seems like every time the Chiefs get caught with their pants down on a fake we get the same answer. At some point, it has to fall back on Toub.
Only Weird Games - Chiefs Offense vs. Jaguars Defense: Can the Pass Catchers Make the Difference?
Nate Taylor, Seth Keysor, and Joshua Brisco break down some of the key matchups in the Kansas City Chiefs Week 2 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars including the return of Chris Jones and how the pass-catchers need to step up.
Wednesday Injury Report:
Chiefs:
Lions:
Quick Hits:
- The NFL is cracking down on illegal formations after Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor caused major controversy in Week 1.
- We now know all the minutiae of Chiefs DT Chris Jones’ new contract and how the incentive structure works.
- Jaguars HC Doug Pederson named an underrated skill displayed by Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
Important Dates Ahead:
- Sept. 17: Chiefs at Jaguars - Regular Season Week 2
- Sept. 24: Chiefs vs. Bears - Regular Season Week 3
- Sept. 29, Oct. 2-3: PUP list / NFI list players can begin their practice window
