After one of the biggest playoff comebacks last Saturday against the Chargers, the Jags will head to Arrowhead in a Week 10 rematch. What will the Chiefs bring to the table against a red-hot Jaguars team and how can they get to their fifth-straight AFC Championship Game?
In the last matchup, the Chiefs were able to beat the Jaguars 27-17 in KC. Mahomes had a monster game putting up four touchdowns and throwing for 331 yards. The Chiefs are looking for the same outcome as they are trying to reach their 5th straight AFC Championship game and host it for the 5th time as well. What will the Chiefs need to do in this rematch to avoid an upset at home against the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars?
Offense
The Chiefs will be without star Wide Receiver Mecole Hardman for another game. He has had a setback in his recovery, but Reid is optimistic he will be available for this post-season. Even though the Chiefs miss one of the best players they had in the red zone, Kadarius Toney once again will have to come up big for this Kansas City Offense. In the past weeks, in each game, Toney has at least scored a touchdown and made up for the absence of Hardman. With his shiftiness and incredible route running, Toney could be set to have a historic playoff run.
Going up against an aggressive defense and a stout defensive line, this offense will spread out the ball to keep the defenders honest, which will open up the entire field for Mahomes and his weapons. Expect McKinnon, Kelce, and Juju to have a big day as in the last matchup those guys helped the offense flourish against Jacksonville. Mahomes should have another big day in the air throwing for over 300 yards and throwing for 3 touchdowns and one on the ground. They will have to have a clean game because Jacksonville knows how to capitalize off of mistakes, seeing what happened last week against the Chargers.
Defense
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars have been red-hot after their loss to KC earlier this year. Doug Pederson gave his team confidence and told them it would come down to week 18 after the loss to KC and end up making it to the playoffs and winning the AFC South. Since Week 12, Lawrence average a 68% completion percentage and threw for 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. His number looked great and he put his offense in the position to be respectable as Christian Kirk and Travis Etienne have been great.
Defensively, the Chiefs will need to stay disciplined and keep the pressure on Lawrence, because even when he turns over the ball, he does not lose confidence and will always give his team the best shot. Jones, Clark, and Karlaftis, who have come along throughout the season, will have to get in the face of Lawrence all game and force him to make early mistakes to keep the tempo in KC favor. Another potential threat defensively for the Chiefs is the 12th man. After the comments Lawrence made in the past week, Chiefs Kingdom is looking to show him that we are not the same as Jacksonville fans.
Being in the stadium that sounds like you are standing next to an airplane getting ready to take off, makes any young QB nervous when they head to KC for a playoff game. All three phases of the defense will have to show up on Saturday, as Lawrence has never lost a Saturday game in his football career, and they are looking to break that record this coming Saturday.
All of Kansas City will be fired up late Saturday afternoon. Reid who has one of the best records coming off a Bye is looking to extend that streak and push KC to its 5th AFC Championship. The prediction for this game is KC winning 35-23 as they control throughout the entire game and show the inexperience of the young Jaguars unit.
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