The Jacksonville Jaguars hit the road to battle the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Divisional Round on Saturday. For the Jaguars, they were never supposed to reach this stage, but Doug Pederson’s team hit a hot streak, winning six games in a row.
As for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, they were vying to reach the AFC Conference Championship for the fifth time in five seasons. It’s nothing new for Andy Reid’s team, but in the playoffs, a win is never guaranteed.
With the Chiefs moving onto the next stage and the Jaguars now entering offseason mode, let’s dive into our top four takeaways from Kansas City’s latest playoff win.
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Jamal Agnew was one of Jacksonville’s brightest stars, but the fumble hurt
Playing in one of the most hostile atmospheres in football, the Jaguars entered the day with an extremely tough task at hand. Each time the Chiefs scored, that feeling only magnified. But Jacksonville’s return specialist Jamal Agnew did his best to quiet the crowd.
Agnew continued to put Trevor Lawrence and the rest of the Jaguars’ offense in good field position thanks to his explosive kick returns. Agnew had returns of 63, 26, and 42 yards. Had Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker not managed to kick a touchback on two other kick returns, Agnew could have possibly had an even better performance.
Unfortunately, even Agnew producing 131 yards on three returns wasn’t good enough to erase his costly fourth-quarter fumble. Agnew caught a pass, his second of the day, but coughed up a fumble inside the five-yard line in a 27-17 game with just under six minutes to play.
In a game where the Jaguars knew they couldn’t afford to lose the turnover battle, it was the rarely-used (on offense) Agnew who contributed to their ultimate demise.
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Jacksonville Jaguars are good, but far from elite
Coming into the matchup, many didn’t feel the Jaguars stood a chance of going round for round against the NFL’s highest-scoring offense. While there were hiccups that led to Mahomes missing a full quarter and possibly being impacted by his ankle injury later on, the Jaguars at least proved they belong as a legitimate playoff team, not only this season but now heading into the following season as well.
The Jaguars have a lot of building blocks, but most importantly, they have their head coach and quarterback of the future set in stone. Instead of heading into an offseason needing to throw tons of cash at various weaknesses, the Jaguars have just a select few areas to address.
Losing is never fun, but the Jaguars can say they won the 2022-23 season by blowing past all expectations, going from worst in the AFC South to first. Not only that, they stuck with one of the best teams in football in the playoffs. It’s a loss, but Jaguars fans shouldn’t hesitate to view the season as a big win.
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Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury shows toughness, but at what cost
Patrick Mahomes certainly had a day. Not to his usual standards of a 400-yard game or a four-touchdown performance. No, it wasn’t impressive numbers or no-look passes that will have people talking about his playoff performance against Jacksonville. Instead, it was the grit the 2018 NFL MVP showed.
Injuring his ankle in the first quarter after getting pinned under a Jaguars defender’s knee, Mahomes was seen limping, hobbling, and eventually leaving the field for a locker room evaluation. Backup QB Chad Henne took over and even threw seven passes while leading Kansas City on a 98-yard touchdown drive.
But Mahomes came alive in the second half, returning to the field despite reports that he may have a high ankle sprain. Mahomes ultimately seemed to handle himself just fine, even scrambling at times. Yet, he was never expected to return to the field, with concerns instead focused on how long Mahomes may be forced out of action. Mahomes’ ankle is something to monitor throughout the week, but by all appearances, he’ll be good to go next week.
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Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff success under Andy Reid continues
Jaguars Pro Bowl pass rusher Josh Allen felt confident his team would win in Kansas City, but he shouldn’t have been so ignorant of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ success. Mahomes is on track to win NFL MVP for the second time in his young career. Reid has only just become the first head coach in NFL history to have 10 playoff wins with two different franchises.
In turn, the Chiefs head to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship game, with Mahomes being the team’s QB for all five years. Reid is well on his way to the Hall of Fame, and with another run to the Super Bowl, Mahomes could already be making a strong case as well.
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