Patrick Mahomes Tips Cap to Jaguars Ahead of Divisional Round
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars by double-digits back in Week 10, dropping Doug Pederson's squad to 3-7 on the year. The two teams are set for a rematch in the Divisional Round of the playoffs with Kansas City hosting, but this is far from the same exact Jacksonville team that came into Arrowhead Stadium in November.
Before a Week 11 bye that followed the loss to the Chiefs, the Jaguars were still finding their footing a bit. Close losses filled with miscues plagued the team, with second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence learning a bit on the fly and the Jaguars' defense not performing as needed. Since then, however, Jacksonville is 7-1 with Football Outsiders DVOA rankings in the top 10 for overall team efficiency, offense and special teams. Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell's unit is also improved.
The Jaguars have been playing better football over the last couple of months and while they didn't get out to an ideal start in the Wild Card round against the Los Angeles Chargers, they picked up the pieces and put together a masterful second half to complete a thrilling comeback win. When asked this week about the differences between Week 10's Jaguars and the upcoming Divisional Round Jags, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on Tuesday that he and Kansas City knew all along that they were a good football club.
“I think the only difference is they might just have a little bit more confidence because they're winning football games right now," Mahomes said. "But they're a talented team. I knew that the first time we played them, you can see the talent that they had. They were flying around to the football. They made a few mistakes here and there and that's why we kind of got the win the first time. But we understand how good this football team is and how much of a challenge it is going to be for us to go out there and try to find a way to get a win. And so, we're trying to prepare ourselves the best way possible that we can find a way to win it there on Saturday.”
Somehow, in that aforementioned Week 10 matchup, the Chiefs scored 27 points and held the Jaguars to 17 despite losing the turnover battle 3-0. When Kansas City's offense stayed on the field, it averaged 7.8 yards per play and went 7-for-10 on third downs while also not allowing a single sack. On the other side of the field, Lawrence was sacked five times and the Jaguars mustered just seven points in the first half. Even with a sloppy game, things weren't particularly close.
One of the underlying themes of the game was aggression, and Kansas City was on the receiving end of it at least twice. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was knocked out of the game with a concussion suffered on a risky hit by Jaguars safety Andre Cisco and just moments later, Cisco collided with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and caused him to briefly exit the contest. Mahomes took the blame for putting his receivers in less-than-ideal situations there, also praising Jacksonville for having a high-flying defense.
“Yeah, they're a fast, physical team," Mahomes said. "They fly around, they fly to the football. I got to do better in not leading guys into hits like that. So I'll try to protect my receivers the best I can, but we're going to still be aggressive. We're going to throw the ball down the field when we get the opportunities to. But it's all going to start up front. Our guys blocking their defensive line, which has a lot of great players there. So, I'm just going to do whatever I can to have success every play that I get the opportunity to.”
Saturday's game features two of the best young quarterbacks in the sport, as even Mahomes qualifies as a part of that group despite being the oldest signal-caller remaining in the AFC playoffs at 27. Lawrence experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in his first playoff game, and he's now going on the road for the first time in his postseason career. He capped last weekend off with a trip to his local Waffle House, and Mahomes playfully said he'll have to respond with something just as iconic if Kansas City advances to the AFC Championship Game with a win.
“I can't remember exactly," Mahomes said when asked about how he celebrated his first playoff win. "I'm sure – I was saying to (Vice President of Football Communications) Brad (Gee), I'm sure there was a couple of Coors Lights that were drunk. But yeah, I didn't get Waffle House. That's a baller move, so maybe if we win this one, I'll think of somewhere to go that can match that."
