Chiefs vs. Jaguars Divisional Preview

Jaguars Will Take On Goliath Away From Home

If anyone was saying the Jaguars would rematch against the Chiefs in the playoffs, they were either crazy or they were a Jaguars fan. For myself, I'm obviously the latter. Jacksonville has gone on an amazing run since their last matchup in Kansas City with a record of 7-1 including five come-from-behind wins. Regardless of how people want to view this game, you can't say that the Jaguars haven't changed drastically from before.

There has been a slew of moves made around the roster and an abundance of players who have found their footing in Doug Pederson's new system. Perhaps the biggest change since last time was the move of putting Darious Williams on the outside and Tre Herndon in the slot. Williams has blossomed into a shutdown corner while Herndon has been targeted once in the last two games. He played 91 snaps and didn't allow a reception. When these teams last faced each other, Montaric Brown and Tre Herndon were tasked with covering outside receivers which was, well, a disaster.

Among other changes for Jacksonville include the clutch play of Trevor Lawrence and the breakout emergence of Evan Engram. Both players have been playing the best football of their careers and will present brand new challenges to a struggling Chiefs secondary. Even Devin Lloyd has found his footing recently which should drastically improve the play of the linebackers corps. They are still facing the Kansas City Chiefs who feature their own deadly group of players, but it's safe to say that Jacksonville has a much better shot.

It Could Take 60 Great Minutes Of Football To Win In Arrowhead

While the Jaguars have been on an absolute tear since early December, they haven't put together many perfect games. It's often been late antics mixed with some miracles that have led to the record this team holds. While that could still work on Saturday, the Jaguars would have a much higher chance of advancing to the title game if they stayed strong the whole game.

When these two teams last faced each other, Jacksonville was unable to get out of its own way with an abundance of blown opportunities. Those included missed field goals, death-blow penalties, and dropped catches that consistently kept them from competing. Kansas City also had some big mistakes as they were the only team to turnover the ball and did it on several occasions, but they also didn't take that game very seriously.

Early this season, the Chiefs circled their match against the Bengals and arguably didn't bring their best to many of their matchups. In all fairness, they didn't have to because their schedule ended up being much easier than expected. However, that was still a potentially fatal flaw in their locker room.

I don't believe this includes all the players though. Mahomes told Lawrence after their matchup that they had a really good team and his belief has come to fruition. He won't be overlooking this matchup along with other players, but I don't think that'll go for the whole locker room. Almost no one in Kansas City believes that their team could be eliminated this week and that thought process could come back to bite.

The Chiefs will bring back many of the same difficult challenges for Jacksonville to face. How can you limit Travis Kelce? What must happen to convert pressures to sacks? There were no answers to those questions last time, but a rejuvenated defensive line going up against questionable offensive tackles could flip the script. In addition, if Devin Lloyd can put together a great game it would also free up Foye Oluokun to focus on his duties. Those changes must come to fruition, but the foundation is there for it to take place.

Final Prediction

While the Chiefs should win this game, I believe this weekend is one of those great David vs. Goliath moments. Some media heads are giving Jacksonville a chance, but the vast majority of people don't see this team for what its become. With the emergence of Evan Engram, the Chiefs secondary will be tasked to do more while the Jaguars offensive line should be able to hold the fort long enough for Lawrence. Chris Jones could still represent a problem, but the defensive ends should be neutralized.

The Jaguars will be able to play free on defense and convert more pressures into sacks. The coverage should be heavily improved and Mahomes will likely be forced to rely on Travis Kelce again. That will work to an extent, but their offense should be much more limited this time around. I think that Jacksonville will hang around with Kansas City and take the lead late. Both teams will look to run the ball which will limit the number of possessions in the game. The defense will be tasked with one last stop and make the big play to send Jacksonville to the AFC Conference Championship. There's something special brewing in Jacksonville, so I'm taking these guys to win 28-24.

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