KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A couple weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were a winless football team and there were some doubts that the team’s reign might be over.
But those doubts were short lived as the Chiefs (2-2) have won two straight and are seeking a third win in a row Monday night at Jacksonville. The Jaguars (3-1) feature a defense that leads the league with 13 turnovers, including nine interceptions. On offense, they’re led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.
Lawrence, who is in his fifth season, is off to a bit of a slow start this year. He’s thrown for five touchdowns and four interceptions while Etienne has rushed for 394 yards and two scores and is averaging six yards per carry.
“We always knew (Lawrence) had a lot of talent but it looks like he’s a quarterback that’s really comfortable in a system that’s new and you don’t usually see that right off the bat,” said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “But they sure have put it together pretty good, pretty quick. It’s resulted in three wins and a bunch of points. There’s no easy games in this league and there’s no easy offenses to defend.
“You look at the tape on these guys and they’ve got receivers and it’s the running back who is kind of generating it right now. Like all these games we’ve been playing right now, if we don’t stop that first, it becomes a long day.”
Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange leads the team with 19 catches for 182 yards, while rookie wideout Travis Hunter has 13 catches for 118 yards. Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie will likely see action against both as he will lineup on the edge and in the slot once again. He said lining up inside or outside has its challenges.
“Outside is more like an island, a little more man to man, a little more really going against that receiver,” McDuffie said. “Whereas in nickel you’re pretty much a glorified linebacker. You’ve got to play man to man, the slot, but a guy has to be really disciplined.
“You’ve got to be able to read high hat, low hat from the offensive linemen. And there’s a few more things you have to look at because you’re on the inside of the defense and you’re not on the outside seeing the big picture. But both positions in this defense you can still do a lot. A corner, you’re still going to be able to blitz, you’re still playing man and playing zone and do the same things in nickel. It’s just how you read the field.”
The Jaguars are also fourth in the league in rushing, and Lawrence has been sacked just three times this season. Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said the Chiefs defense will have to rise to the challenge against the Jaguars.
“They’ve been battle tested,” Jones said. “Their defense has been playing lights-out. Trevor Lawrence has made a lot of progression throughout the years. And he’s made a lot of big throws when the team needed him. So they have a very cohesive group that is playing well together right now. So it’ll be a challenge for us as a D-line and a defense to get after them.”
