Jaguars vs. Chiefs: 5 observations
The first game of the 2019 season was one long gut punch for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only did the team give up 40 points at home after giving up a little over 15 points per game at TIAA Bank Field last year, but their starting quarterback suffered a broken clavicle after only 10 plays.
From the defense yet again being humbled, to the offense now relying on the play of a rookie sixth-round pick, what can we take away from Sunday's loss, and who were the best players on offense, defense and special teams?
1) The Jaguars defense was once again outcoached and outsmarted
"Coach [Andy] Reid could be hands down the best guy that’s going to really scheme you."
That is what Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash said on Thursday. And then Sunday, Wash became yet another victim to Reid's offensive schemes, with wide receivers, tight ends and, at one point, a full back running free through the soft zones in Wash's scheme.
Kansas City is going to score on any defense, but the Jaguars barely showed resistance on Sunday. To put things into perspective, the Chiefs scored on each of their first seven drives. They picked up 24 first downs and tallied almost 500 yards, and it all seemed like it was done with relative ease. The Jaguars had no answer for anything Reid threw at them, which is a concerning trend for Wash's scheme dating back to even 2017 when he struggled against the San Francisco 49ers offensive scheme.
If the Jaguars are going to keep this season from snowballing after this loss and on the heels of Foles' injury, they are going to need to show a better ability to adapt in-game, which was their Achilles heel today and in the past.
2) Nick Foles' injury is a dark cloud over start of season, but Minshew inspired confidence
There is no mincing words when it comes to Nick Foles' injury, which will leave him sidelined for an indefinite amount of time. It sucks for the team and the fanbase, but it is especially awful for Foles, who has had to battle his way through injuries at really every stop of his career.
Foles injury also came at a crucial point in the game. He threw a 35-yard touchdown to D.J. Chark to make the game 10-7, but this ended up being the same play he was injured on after Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones landed on him. After that, the Jaguars didn't score another touchdown until there was only 7:32 left in the game the score was 37-13.
With that said, rookie Gardner Minshew stepped in cold and played well, completing his first 13 passes. He only threw three incompletions, and truly did not make any mistakes that stood out. He moved the offense well and were it not for two Leonard Fournette-caused turnovers and a few drive-killing penalties, he likely would have put more points on the board.
3) Despite two players making their first NFL starts, the offensive line held up
The Jaguars offensive line suffered through holding penalties but outside of that, the unit far exceeded expectations vs a dangerous Chiefs front. Frank Clarke and Chris Jones both failed to register a sack, with the Chiefs only sack coming late in the game from Emmanuel Ogbah.
The story of the game entering Sunday was how WIll Richardson Jr. would fare at left tackle against Clarke, one of the NFL's most dangerous pass rushers. On Sunday, he more than held his own and kept Foles and Minshew clean. Jawaan Taylor gave up the aforementioned sack, but he also providing stability on the edge regardless of who he was blocking for.
The three veterans between them (Andrew Norwell, Brandon Linder, A.J. Cann) also played well, and were a big reason why Minshew was as successful as he was. With Foles down, they might be the most important unit to the team's success with a rookie quarterback at the helm.
4) Josh Allen and Yannick Ngakoue could be an elite duo in short order
The Jaguars, like the Chiefs, struggled to bring the quarterback down and finished with zero sacks, But despite that number, the defense was largely in Patrick Mahomes' face the entire game and Josh Allen and Yannick Ngakoue led the charge.
The highlight of the duo was in the second quarter when Josh Allen forced Mahomes to move up in the pocket and into Ngakoue's grasp, resulting in a strip-sack, which was negated by a Myles Jack personal foul. Each player had their way with the Chiefs offensive tackles and both were fingertips away from having sacks of their own on multiple occasions.
The more these two play together, the more important it is that Ngakoue gets a long-term extension. With better coverage behind them, they can terrorize every quarterback they play.
5) The Jaguars lack of discipline is their biggest non-Foles concern issue forward
Jacksonville was flagged 10 times for 71 yards in Sunday's loss and it could have been more was it not for a few off-setting penalties. It seemed like each time the defense made a positive play or got a stop, they shot themselves in the foot with an avoidable penalty.
The perfect example of the Jaguars lack of discipline was Myle Jacks' ejection in the second quarter after throwing punches at Chiefs wideout Demarcus Robinson. Jack was understandably upset at what looked to be a cheap shot, but he way overreacted and cost the team in a huge way with his absence.
But the Jaguars discipline problem runs far deeper than Jacks' ejection. For the second year in a row, a team captain has been ejected for throwing punches and, once again, the Jaguars look to be on track to be among the NFL's most penalized teams. If Doug Marrone is going to lead them to a winning season, he has got to get them to understand how to stop beating themselves.
