The Kansas City Chiefs traveled to face AFC opponent the Jacksonville Jaguars in a rematch of last year’s divisional round playoff matchup.
Both teams struggled offensively, however, the Chiefs were able to overcome obstacles produced by themselves and by the Jaguar defense. It was a one-possession matchup for the entirety of the game with the Chiefs leading. With the help of the defense, they never looked back.
The rematch from last year’s playoffs concluded with a final score of 17-9.
Kelce finds the Blank Space
After missing week 1 with a knee injury, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made his presence known in his return by getting into the end zone.
Kansas City was hoping to improve from their week 1 offense woes after their close loss to the Detroit Lions. Instead, they still have struggled to find their identity through two weeks.
“You play bad and win, it’s a lot better than playing bad and losing.” Star Quarterback Patrick Mahomes commented.
The Chiefs were penalized for a total of 12 penalties for 94 yards. Former Florida Gator Jawaan Taylor was a part of five of those and ultimately was benched during the game.
Adding this victory into the column prevented the team from being the first defending Super Bowl Champions to start the season 0-2 since the Denver Broncos did it in 1999.
The kick is gooooooooooood‼️#EasyToCelebrate | @BudLight pic.twitter.com/Iwstzuc6fs
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 17, 2023
Jaguars Get Caged at Home
Coming off a week 1 win against division rival the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars were primed to avenge their playoff loss from last year. However, their offense was slowed down.
QB Trevor Lawrence had a clean game with zero interceptions but struggled all day to find the endzone. He went 0 for 7 passing in the red zone and was forced to throw an incompletion on a crucial 4th and 12 play with little time remaining.
Lawrence, after the game, relayed his frustration by saying, “We got our shot here at home and laid an egg offensively,”. He continued, “It’s pretty frustrating… It’s definitely really, really frustrating when you leave that much out there.”
On to Houston.#KCvsJAX | @net_acr pic.twitter.com/fQd4mzygu4
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 17, 2023
Looking Forward to Week 3
The Kansas City Chiefs will go back home to host the 0-2 Chicago Bears at 4:25 p.m. on FOX.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars will host division rival the Houston Texans at 1 p.m. on FOX.