Jacksonville Jaguars 26, Kansas City Chiefs 13: 5 Observations on Preseason Opener

What did we see from Trevor Lawrence, Ryan Nielsen's defense and more during the Jaguars' first preseason game?

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) reacts to his reception during the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Saturday night's preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs went about as well as the Jaguars could have hoped.

The Jaguars got playing time for all 3 levels of the depth chart, they left the game with zero injuries, the starting offense scored a touchdown, and the Jaguars came out with a 26-13 win.

"Yeah, I mean, it is pleasing. It goes back to our message back in April. I talked about development. I think that's what you're seeing out there in practice. It's what I'm seeing anyway," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game.

"Then tonight with so many guys playing in this game, there wasn't really a dropoff. Sometimes when you get out of that first, second unit, sometimes there's a letdown or a dropoff with play. I didn't see that tonight. Our guys played fast, they played hard. Were there mistakes? Sure, there were mistakes, and MAs (missed assignments), things like that we can clean up this week. I think top to bottom, the guys played, credit to them, fast and they played physical."

So, what did we see during the Jaguars' win and what do we think it means moving forward? We break it down below.

Brian Thomas Jr. made the play the Jaguars needed to see

The Jaguars' first-round receiver made one of the best highlight catches of the entire preseason weekend, even earning a spot on SportsCenter's top-10. The Jaguars have talked about building Thomas' confidence early in the season, and his 41-yard touchdown clearly did that. Thomas and his ability to threaten defenses deep can help the offense even when he doesn't get the ball, and plays like the one he made against the Chiefs will put defenses on notice as early as Week 1.

"Well, obviously when you draft a guy first this year, the type of receiver, really the type of person. He's very capable obviously of making those types of plays. Just an excellent play," Pederson said. "I think you see the excitement from the entire team. Same thing when Christian Braswell, even though it was ruled down, you saw the excitement there, as well, some of the other big plays that were made. We just got to keep Brian coming. He's going to be a big part of our offense."

Defense offers deep rotation on first drive

While the Jaguars' starting defense was missing Tyson Campbell, Arik Armstead and Darnell Savage, the Jaguars were able to get by during the first few drives thanks to a deep rotation up front. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense had a successful first drive, but the Jaguars did show more depth and versatility in terms of matchups with Trevis Gipson, D.J. Coleman, Jeremiah Ledbetter, Maason Smith, and Chad Muma all seeing time on the first drive. The Jaguars rarely rotated in droves like this before, so this will be a story to track throughout the season.

"It's the reason the guys can stay fresh not only throughout the game, but they stay fresh throughout the course of the season. It was our team in Philly with Jim Schwartz as the coordinator. When you have eight guys on your roster and you can consistently rotate and keep those guys fresh the entire game, it helps," Pederson said.

"It helps on third down, when they're fresh and can get after the passer. It's just something that Ryan obviously believes in. I believe in it. Listen, it's coordinated. It's not just you go pick five guys. It's well organized and well coordinated. Credit to the defensive staff and the players for getting in and out."

Cam Little has an inspiring debut

It was a solid night of kicking for Jaguars rookie Cam Little, who proved that the big stage isn't too big. There is a lot of pressure on Little as the Jaguars' only rostered kicker, but he came through on three of his field goal attempts (31, 40, 47) and just barely missed a 60+ yarder. He had the leg for the long kick, with the ball shifitng left in its flight and just barely missing the uprights.

"It just shows the leg strength that Cam has, the reason we drafted him. He definitely had some wind in his back on that one before half there. He works hard. He works hard in practice at it," Pederson said.

"You can see, he's not a big guy, but he's got a really strong and powerful leg. I went into this game thinking I wanted to get him some opportunities to kick under this type of pressure, this kind of stage. He performed extremely well. I mean, he was amped up now to start the game. He saw those kickoffs go through the end zone, and he was excited, which rightfully so. He'll learn from it. But he had a good night."

Run blocking is an issue until it isn't

The biggest flaw with the 2023 Jaguars offense was their inability to generate movement up front and consistently make the running game a factor. Through one preseason game, it remains to be seen if the Jaguars' estimation of how to fix their running game is actually correct. The Jaguars were without left guard Ezra Cleveland and tight tackle Anton Harrison, but they still struggled to get positive yardage in the running game, with the line getting knocked back a few times and the timing just seeming off.

The Jaguars' run blocking got better when Tank Bigsby, D'Ernest Johnson, Jalen Jackson and the backup offensive linemen were in the game against the Chiefs backup, but that won't do much for the Jaguars come Week 1. The Jaguars have the running backs, but whether their line can create holes in the regular season will be a looming question until they answer it.

Which depth players made an impression

There were a number of second- or third-team players who made positive impressions throughout the evening. The preseason is when players can really make or break their case for the 53-man roster, and we saw several Jaguars take the right step forward.

Offensively, running back D'Ernest Johnson had 54 yards from scrimmage on just six touches, showing burst and vision as a runner and yards after the catch ability as a runner. Backup tight end Josiah Deguara also had one of the best catches of the night on a seam throw from Mac Jones, coming down with a 28-yard gain despite a tight window and plenty of contact.

On defense, the Jaguars had several defensive ends make plays between D.J. Coleman (two quarterback hits, several run stops), Breeland Speaks (sack, deflected pass), and rookie Myles Cole (0.5 sacks). Each player was disruptive against both the pass and the run, and it looks like the Jaguars could have legit depth there behind Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Trevis Gipson. Terrell Edmunds also recorded two forced fumbles and looked like a quality fit in Ryan Nielsen's scheme.

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Subscribe to the Jaguars On SI Podcast on Apple and Spotify.
• Check out the Jaguars On SI YouTube Channel.