KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t have imagined a better situation than the one they faced at the end of the first half of their divisional round playoff game against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
The starting AFC South champions, who had to recover from a 27-point deficit against the Chargers last week to make it to Arrowhead Stadium, found themselves in a hostile environment 10-7 inside — and with league MVP contender Patrick Mahomes, bumping through the tunnel to the Kansas City locker room.
After that, they continued to squander opportunities – their stingy defense gave up too many points, their offense turned the ball too often – only to finish the upset.
Kansas City ultimately held on to a 27–20 victory on a cold, snowy night, leading the Jaguars into the offseason after an impressive run few expected outside of Jacksonville.
“You put so much into it. You put everything you have for six months to get these opportunities. In short, it stings,” said Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
“We’ll be back. I’m confident. This is more the beginning than the end of something. For us, this is just the beginning.”
Still, it’s hard for Jacksonville not to wonder what could have been.
Trouble started after Mahomes left with an ankle injury early in the second quarter. One of the league’s best defenses promptly enabled 37-year-old journeyman Chad Henne to lead the Chiefs on a 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive, putting the Jaguars in a 17-7 hole in the waning minutes of the first half.
“That was a turning point in the game,” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson. “We had them on the 2 yard line and we released them. But those are opportunities where we need to be better.”
When Mahomes returned from the second half locker room, their defense didn’t get much pressure on the suddenly immobile quarterback.
And with time in the pocket to watch the field, Mahomes shredded Jacksonville on a 75-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, making it 27-17 with just over 7 minutes remaining.
After their defense failed them, the Jaguars turned to their offense to stage another comeback.
That also failed them.
Lawrence, who responded to four interceptions against the Chargers by throwing four touchdown passes in their 31–30 comeback victory, gallantly drove Jacksonville down in the fourth quarter. But after completing a pass to Jamal Agnew, who had hurt the special teams Chiefs, the wide receiver released the ball for a turnover.
The Jaguars defense quickly forced a punt, but Lawrence was taken out almost immediately by rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson, whose one-handed jumping interception came just short of the Jacksonville sideline.
“We had some protection issues,” Pederson said, “and the guy made a great game.”
The Jaguars finally got a field goal from Riley Patterson with 25 seconds left, giving them a chance to attempt an onside kick. But the Chiefs, whose special teams have been a mess for most of the season, set out to put the game away.
Travis Etienne ran for 62 yards and a score, and the Jaguars averaged better than 7 1/2 yards per carry. But they were unable to keep the drive going and Lawrence finished with a pass of just 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“I don’t really have the words for it right now. It’s crushed in equal parts that we’re done playing and proud of what we’ve done. It’s hard to feel that part right now,” Lawrence said. “The Chiefs did more today than we did. We didn’t really make those plays at the end that we’ve been able to make over the past two months.”
It was a disappointing end to what had become a dream for the Jaguars, who tied a Super Bowl-era record by winning eight games as an underdog and pulling off the third-biggest playoff comeback in NFL history.
In doing so, they became the first team to win a playoff game after the previous season’s worst record.
All this bodes well for the Jaguars under Pederson – the longtime apprentice of Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid, who brought a Super Bowl championship to Philadelphia but will have to wait to do the same for Jacksonville.
“I’ll tell you, I think Doug did a phenomenal job,” Reid said. “Their team is better than when we played against them (in November). For them the sky is the limit. They are young. They believe in what they are taught and they play hard.
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