A statement win for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are now 4-1 after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.
With the dust having settled, let’s take a look back at the Jaguars’ performance with the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.
The good from the Jaguars’ Week 5 win vs. Chiefs
The final drive: I mean, what impressive possession for Trevor Lawrence and the offense. The drive included two of Lawrence’s best throws of the night on passes to Brian Thomas Jr. and Dyami Brown. As the last play illustrated, this felt like a possession where Lawrence was going to will the Jaguars down the field one way or another. When a big play was needed, Lawrence found a way.
Trevor Lawrence scrambling: Lawrence’s ability to pick up yards was such a critical part of the Jaguars’ success. In addition to the two rushing touchdowns he had, Lawrence also extended a number of drives by picking up first downs. His 54 rushing yards at 5.4 yards per carry both led the team. There were some designed runs from Liam Coen, but Lawrence took off on his own often.
Jaguars’ resiliency: This is something that Liam Coen has preached since becoming the Jaguars’ head coach. How will this team respond when facing adversity? The Jaguars showcased that resilient quality on a few occasions in this game, first overcoming a 14-point deficit and then in orchestrating the go-ahead touchdown drive late.
“The toughness and resiliency is something I’m really proud of,” Liam Coen said after the game.
A much cleaner game: Penalties have been a major issue for the Jaguars this season. The 8.4 penalties per game the Jaguars were averaging coming into this game were the seventh-most in football. But against the Chiefs, the Jaguars had just four penalties. There are still some pre-snap operational errors to correct; however, it was a much cleaner game overall.
Devin Lloyd does it again: A huge swing in this game came off another Devin Lloyd interception. Not only did Lloyd take seven points away from the Chiefs, who were about to score, but he added seven points to the Jaguars’ total by returning the interception for a touchdown. In addition to that, the play itself was impressive, with Mahomes never seeing Lloyd in coverage as he looked to be a blitzer before sliding into the throwing lane.
The bad from the Jaguars’ Week 5 win vs. the Chiefs
Missed tackles and YAC: The Jaguars have been a sound tackling team through four weeks, but the Chiefs and their speed at wide receiver put that to the test in this one. According to PFF’s early tracking data, the Jaguars had 12 missed tackles, the most they’ve had in a game this season. The Chiefs also picked up 139 yards after the catch. Kansas City’s usage of the quick passing game and misdirection helped put their pass catchers in space, where they were in advantageous positions to make defenders miss.
Pressure from the defensive front: It was tough for the Jaguars’ defensive front to get after Patrick Mahomes in this game. Per PFF, Mahomes was under pressure on just 26% of his dropbacks. The defensive line was responsible for only eight of those pressures, with no sacks, in a game where Mahomes dropped back over 40 times. The pressure that was drummed up often came when Anthony Campanile sent pressure, which he did often in this one. Again, the Chiefs’ utilization of the quick passing game made generating pressure difficult.
The ugly from the Jaguars’ Week 5 win vs. the Chiefs
Giveaways become points: At the end of the day, the Jaguars were able to overcome their turnover mishaps. But those giveaways were extremely costly. Lawrence’s fumble at the goal line not only took a touchdown off the board for the Jaguars, but the Chiefs then marched down the field for a touchdown of their own. Then, Lawrence’s interception led to another Chiefs touchdown.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Jaguars’ Week 5 win vs. the Chiefs
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
