Final score: Chiefs start hot, hold off Jaguars for 27-17 win

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17 in Sunday afternoon’s Week 10 matchup on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jaguars clearly wanted to get a fast start on the Chiefs, opting to try an onside kick on the opening kickoff. They executed it perfectly, giving their offense a short field to begin the game. But the Kansas City defense held Jacksonville to just 15 yards, forcing the first of five first-half punts.

After running back Isiah Pacheco gave up a fumble to end the Chiefs’ first drive, the Chiefs took a 7-0 lead on wide receiver Kardaius Toney’s first Kansas City touchdown. By the time there was a less than a minute remaining before the half, the Chiefs had built a 20-0 lead.

But Jacksonville managed a 35-second drive to make the score 20-7 — and then on the ensuing kickoff, Kansas City tight end Jody Fortson fumbled the ball away. The Jaguars missed their second field goal of the game as the half expired, but narrowed the score to 20-10 with a field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Chiefs responded with a 75-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce — the fourth Kansas City player to catch a touchdown in the game — and the Chiefs took a 27-10 lead The Jaguars managed a fourth-quarter touchdown, but that was it.

First quarter

The Chiefs won the coin toss, choosing to receive the opening kickoff. Jacksonville came out with an onside kick, executing it and starting with the ball at their own 46-yard line.

Jacksonville chipped away with a run and quick screen to move the chains initially. They took a shot off play action on the ensuing first down, but wide receiver Christian Kirk dropped a catchable pass. After a run stop by safety Justin Reid on second down, defensive end George Karlaftis batted down the third-down pass — forcing the Jaguars to punt from Kansas City territory.

From the 20-yard line, the Chiefs quickly got into third down. Mahomes moved the chains himself with a 19-yard scramble. A few plays later, wide receiver Justin Watson helped convert with a sideline catch. With another third down on the way, Mahomes found room outside the pocket and hooked up with wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster to get inside the red zone. On the next play, rookie running back Isiah Pacheco coughed up the ball — giving the Jaguars possession at their own 24-yard line.

Still early in the first quarter, Jacksonville quickly got to midfield with a play-action completion to Kirk — who beat cornerback L’Jarius Sneed in coverage. Two plays later, Kirk had another catch on Sneed. The Jaguars needed three yards on third down, but a quarterback sweep was blown up by defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Willie Gay; Karlaftis got in on the stop as well. Jacksonville punted for the second time in as many drives.

After a touchback, Pacheco bounced back from his fumble with a 13-yard run, breaking an open-field tackle on his way to moving the chains. The next snap featured tight end Travis Kelce finding space deep for a 46-yard gain. Pacheco continued his bounce-back drive with a nine-yard run that featured an explosive juke, moving the Chiefs inside the 10-yard line. Mahomes found wide receiver Kadarius Toney in the flat on the next play He hopped his way into the end zone for his first career NFL touchdown. Kansas City held a 7-0 lead with a few minutes to go in the opening period.

Looking to get something going, Jacksonville could not — succumbing to sacks on back-to-back plays after a first-down run. Rookie linebacker Leo Chenal blitzed to get the first one, then Chris Jones blew up the Jaguars’ offensive line to cause the second. The Jaguars punted once again.

Kansas City started their drive with a chains-moving completion to Smith-Schuster, leading into the second quarter.

Second quarter

The Chiefs opened the second period with a fresh set of chains, but Mahomes threw three consecutive incompletions — the last being a diving attempt by wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The tough rep should have been caught.

The Jaguars looked to answer after a good punt return, but Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton blew up their run on first down with a tackle for loss. Jacksonville bounced back with a big third-down conversion to Etienne. On the next set of downs, the Chiefs’ pass rush chased Lawrence around — pushing him out of bounds and sacking him on back-to-back plays; defensive tackle Khalen Saunders earned the sack. After a failed third-down conversion, Jacksonville settled for a 51-yard field goal attempt — and the kick missed left.

The Chiefs’ opened their next drive with a jet sweep call to Toney, who exploded through the Jaguars’ back end for a 32-yard gain. Pacheco followed with his own explosive run, gaining nine and getting into the red zone. On second and short, Mahomes dropped back, climbed the pocket and found an open Valdes-Scantling on a crosser heading into the end zone. The Chiefs pushed their lead to 14-0.

Down two scores, Jacksonville responded by earning a first down — but a holding call caused by Leo Chenal pushed them back. A quick pass made it third down, and the Chiefs heated Lawrence up with a blitz. The hurried pass fell incomplete, leading to yet another punt.

Looking to extend their lead before halftime, the Chiefs quickly found themselves in third down, taking their first timeout to think the play over. On their conversion attempt, Mahomes found Smith-Schuster, but a vicious hit from Jaguars safety Andre Cisco forced the incompletion. It led to a punt near midfield.

Deep in their own territory, Jacksonville started with a 15-yard gain right off the bat. Two plays later, they needed four yards to convert third down; a quick screen tried to beat the Chiefs’ blitz — but Justin Reid and Willie Gay combined to stop the ball carrier short. It was the sixth third-down stop in seven attempts for Kansas City’s defense. The Jaguars punted for the fifth time in the first half.

With three minutes left before halftime, the Chiefs were aided by a defensive holding penalty on third down— setting up a new set of downs. Mahomes found Toney on a quick pass soon after, and he broke two tackles to gain 23 yards; that led into the two-minute warning, with Kansas City threatening near midfield.

Mahomes scrambled for a first down two plays after the break, getting the Chiefs to the Jaguars’ 30-yard line. They got closer to the 10-yard line with multiple completions to running back Jerick McKinnon. Out of a Jacksonville timeout, Mahomes found tight end Noah Gray on a wheel route down the left sideline — pushing their lead to 20-0 with minimal time left in the second quarter.

After a good kick return, Jacksonville threatened to score before half by completing a deep pass down the sideline to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. — who beat rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie in coverage. After the 33-yard gain. Lawrence earned 18 yards himself on a scramble. Inside the red zone, Lawrence found Kirk at the front pylon — beating Sneed to score a last-second touchdown. Jacksonville condensed Kansas City’s lead to 20-7.

On the following kickoff, tight end Jody Fortson fumbled the ball — giving the Jaguars a chance to score again before intermission. After a quick completion, they attempted a 41-yard field goal — and missed. The Chiefs’ held their 20-7 lead into halftime.

Third quarter

The Jaguars received the second-half kickoff, earning 10 yards on a first-down handoff to Etienne. A few plays later, McDuffie blew up a quick screen for a two-yard loss. On third down, Lawrence calmly beat the blitz — firing over the middle for a conversion. Two plays later, they faced third and short. The blitz got to Lawrence this time, earning a sack and forcing fourth down. Jacksonville went for it, converting with a slant that beat cornerback Joshua Williams in tight coverage.

With new life, Jacksonville moved into the red zone by running the ball. Two short gains set them up in third down at the 15-yard line, needing five yards to convert. They got it with a quick pass to Kirk. A penalty took a touchdown off the board soon after, and another incompletion set up third-and-goal from the nine-yard line. Chris Jones finished off the long drive, sacking Lawrence and forcing a field goal attempt. The successful kick made the score 20-10.

With their first drive of the second half, the Chiefs neared midfield with a 19-yard pass completion to McKinnon. Two plays later, they needed six yards to convert third down; Mahomes found Kelce across the middle to do it. After an eight-yard screen pass, Mahomes found a leaping Toney down the sideline for a 22-yard gain. That got them inside the 10-yard line, where Mahomes easily found Kelce for his fourth passing touchdown of the day. The lead was extended to 27-10.

Fourth quarter

Jacksonville looked to claw back in the game, chewing up yardage to get to midfield. Then, defensive end Carlos Dunlap blew up a screen pass — which led to a third down. Lawrence tested Trent McDuffie deep down the left sideline, and McDuffie swiped the pass away at the last moment. Another Jacksonville punt ensued.

With nearly the entire field to go, the Chiefs got the ball rolling with Pacheco on the ground. A few plays later, they converted third down by Mahomes scrambling around and finding McKinnon eventually. Mahomes looked for McKinnon a few snaps later, but Jaguars safety Andre Cisco jumped the pass and intercepted it.

The Jaguars marched down the field with just over six minutes remaining, using the pass game to eat up chunks of yards. On a fourth-down attempt, Lawrence converted with a 10-yard completion. After one end-zone shot missed, Lawrence went right back — finding Kirk open for a touchdown; L’Jarius Sneed was beaten in coverage once again. The Jaguars’ tightened the Chiefs’ lead to 27-17 with five minutes to go.

Looking to put the game away, the Chiefs quickly faced third down. A hard count got Mahomes a free play — and he took advantage with a bomb down the right sideline to Valdes-Scantling. It was a tight-window catch, but Valdes-Scantling’s incredible effort secured the pass.

From midfield, the Chiefs handed off to Pacheco on two straight plays to try and chew up clock. A stuffed third-down attempt led to fourth down — but the Chiefs went for it, converting by way of a quick pass to Kelce. That conversion took them into the two-minute warning.

Pacheco was relied on to move the sticks one more time, needing three carries to do it. After that, the Chiefs sealed the win: 27-17.

Injuries

Special teams defensive back Chris Lammoms was roughed up during a punt in the second quarter. After getting some attention from the trainers, he returned to the sideline under his own power. Later, the team announced Lammons was in concussion protocol; he would not return.

In the second quarter, JuJu Smith-Schuster went down after a hard helmet-to-helmet hit as he was trying to catch a pass. Officials threw a flag for unnecessary roughness, but then picked it up. He was helped into the locker room for an evaluation. At halftime, Kansas City announced he would not return because of concussion protocol.

Late in the first half, Andrew Wylie went to the locker room — which led to reserve lineman Prince Tega Wanogho taking over at right tackle. The Chiefs announced Wylie as questionable to return with an elbow injury.

Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling went to the medical tent during a possession late in the first half; it was after a hard hit on an incompletion. He returned later in the same drive.

Special Teams

On the opening kickoff, the Jaguars surprised the Chiefs with a well-executed onside kick, which they recovered at their own 46-yard line.

Tight end Jody Fortson took the ball on a kickoff right before half, and fumbled — giving Jacksonville a chance to tighten the score.

Returner Kadarius Toney was back to receive all six punts; he returned two for 11 yards total.

Kicker Harrison Butker converted his first two attempts at the extra point. On the third, he pushed it wide left. He made the fourth attempt.

Punter Tommy Townsend has two punts, the longer of the two traveling 51 yards to land inside the 10-yard line.

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