The Jacksonville Jaguars are visiting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday afternoon in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
Trevor Lawrence has a chance to make a name for himself as Jacksonville looks to win a seventh consecutive game and earn a trip to the AFC Championship Game. Standing in his way is a heavily-favored Chiefs team that could be destined for its third Super Bowl appearance in four years.
You can find live highlights of this AFC Divisional Playoff game below. Further below, we provide some quick stats for each team as the Jaguars and Chiefs do battle inside Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs highlights
This space will be your one-stop shop for highlights and analysis of the many key plays in the AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs throughout the day.
We’re sure to see plenty of Mahomes magic on Saturday. He wasted no time getting the party started. On the Chiefs’ first drive, Mahomes pulls off a jump pass, leaping of both feet to complete a surgical strike down the middle of the field.
This second clip provides a better angle of the Mahomes jump pass against Jacksonville. Just look at how his legs kick out while he gets every bit of power he can behind his throw to Travis Kelce.
Here Mahomes shows off his ability to throw from multiple angles while freezing Travon Walker, the No. 1 pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, before completing the pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Mahomes finds Kelce for the fourth time this drive on an eight-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs the early lead. How can you leave Kelce wide open in the red zone?
Jaguars strike back
Jaguars kick returner Jamal Agnew did his best to quiet the raucous crowd at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium by returning the ensuing kickoff 63 yards, all the way back to the 39-yard line before running out of space.
Jacksonville needed just 2:52 and five plays to tie the game at seven points apiece. Trevor Lawrence found Christian Kirk, the Jags’ leading receiver, for a 10-yard touchdown.
Lawrence dropped it right in Kirk’s bucket, where no other defender could get a finger on the ball. Here’s a much better angle of Jacksonville’s first touchdown versus Kansas City.
Patrick Mahomes suffers ankle injury, leaves game
Unfortunately Mahomes’ magical day could be over, or at least postponed for a while. Late in the first quarter the superstar QB suffered an ankle injury and was left with a noticeable limp. In what is certainly not a highlight, here is the play where Mahomes suffered the injury.
Jaguars and Chiefs running backs flash their speed
The Jaguars have a multitude of playmakers who can make an impact on both sides of the ball. Early in the second quarter, it was backup running back JaMycal Hasty’s turn to show what he could do.
Alright, so Isiah Pacheco saw Hasty’s speed, he nearly doubled his 22-yard gain by breaking off a 40-yard dash after dancing behind the line of scrimmage. Just look at how quickly Pacheco gets on his horse and accelerates to full speed. That’s fast.
Pacheco’s big gain only set up Kelce to get on the scoreboard once again, taking a one-yard reception in for his second touchdown of the day. Yet, it was the first touchdown of Chad Henne’s afternoon, who replaced Mahomes at QB. In all, it was a 12-play, 98-yard drive by Henne.
NFL Twitter trolls Trevor Lawrence
Earlier this week, we heard Trevor Lawrence suggest he wasn’t too worried about the crowd noise for his road matchup at Arrowhead, a stadium that holds the world record for loudest decibel level ever produced in a sports arena. Of course Chiefs fans were well aware of this chatter leading into the matchup, as was the NFL’s official Twitter account.
Mahomes returns in the second half
Just as Chiefs fans were starting to worry about their franchise quarterback, Mahomes returns in the second half to resume his role as the starter. The Chiefs held a 17-10 lead coming out of the half, but few anticipated to see Mahomes back on the field.
Jerick McKinnon knows he needs to put it all on the line to protect his QB. Check out this excellent block by the Chiefs’ running back, buying Mahomes more time in the pocket.
Lawrence has seen plenty of Mahomes highlights where the Kansas City buys more time, or simply moves the chains by himself with his legs instead of his cannon arm. Well, here’s Lawrence reminding everyone he’s just as athletic as Mahomes.
Looking for an edge, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t afraid to dial up unconventional play calls on offense to catch a defense off-guard. In this case it’s a misdirection handoff to Christian Kirk for 18 yards.
The Jaguars wrapped up the seven-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It was a big shift in momentum, with the Jaguars moving within three points of tying the game.
Trevor Lawrence absolutely loved it. Here’s the Jacksonville QB showing his emotion following the score.
Travis Kelce sets NFL playoffs TE receptions record
Whether it’s Mahomes or Henne, it hasn’t mattered for Travis Kelce. He’s been a problem all day long. Kelce caught his 14th pass of the game in the fourth quarter, which is a new single game NFL playoffs record for tight ends.
Mahomes tosses a TD off one leg
Possible sprained knee or not, Mahomes is doing what it takes to will his team to victory. Even if that means jumping off one foot to complete another touchdown pass, this time to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Jamal Agnew’s third return of the day was nearly a touchdown, but Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker managed to get him by the shoestrings. Meanwhile, Agnew’s teammates will likely never let him hear the end of it on the sidelines. We can already hear it now – “You let the kicker catch you?”
While the Jaguars managed to drive down the field once again for one final chance, Agnew coughed up a fumble on the five-yard line to give the team odds that were too long to overcome.
The Jaguars got one final stop, giving them another last-chance effort at getting the score within one possession, but Chiefs defensive back Jaylen Watson snatched a one-handed interception on a pass from Lawrence to put the final dagger in Jacksonville’s day.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs preview
The two QBs in this matchup are going to get a lot of attention in this matchup, and it is understandable. One is considered the best at his position, and a strong candidate to win the MVP award for the 2022-2023 season. The other was the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a player who has the talent to place himself among the elites in the coming years.
There is little reason to suspect that Patrick Mahomes will not play well on Saturday afternoon. The one-time Super Bowl champion has made a thing of coming up big in high-pressure moments. The real question is can the second-year QB match his Pro Bowl contemporary? If Trevor Lawrence stands a chance he will also need his key skill players to up their game alongside him on Saturday.
Let’s take a look at how the duo stacks up statistically against each other heading into Saturday’s game at 4:30 PM ET on NBC. You can also take a look at our more in-depth analysis of the game’s key Trevor Lawrence vs Patrick Mahomes matchup.
Jaguars and Chiefs QB comparison
| Player | Team | Comp % | Yards | TD | INT | QB rating |
| Trevor Lawrence | Jaguars | 66.3 | 4,115 | 30 | 8 | 95.2 |
| Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | 67.1 | 5,250 | 45 | 12 | 105.2 |
As key as both quarterbacks will be in their team’s success, the defense they face may be just as pivotal. In our current NFL Playoff defense rankings, both teams rank in the back end. This means this very well could be an offensive shootout where mistakes and turnovers might prove to be the difference maker on gameday.
You can also check out where the two squads land in our latest NFL Playoff offense rankings, plus find out where Andy Reid and Doug Pederson rank among the head coaches left in the postseason. Lastly, below you can get a complete rundown on where the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars finished in many of the key team statistical categories this season.
Key regular-season rankings for Jaguars and Chiefs
- Total offense: Chiefs (1st), Jaguars (10th)
- Passing offense: Chiefs (1st), Jaguars (10th)
- Rushing offense: Jaguars (14th), Chiefs (20th)
- Scoring offense: Chiefs (1st), Jaguars (10th)
- Total defense: Chiefs (11th), Jaguars (24th)
- Pass defense: Chiefs (19th), Jaguars (28th)
- Run defense: Chiefs (8th), Jaguars (12th)
- Scoring defense: Jaguars (12th), Chiefs (16th)