Game Recap: Jaguars Run Out of Magic, Fall 27-20 to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ magical season has come to an end following a 27-20 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. This team, with the emergence of star QB Trevor Lawrence and a new emotional leader in Andrew Wingard, will be remembered by many as the most lovable Jaguar team in a long time. The new team rallying cry “It was always the Jags” has been part of a revival for a fanbase starving for a winning product. Even with a playoff exit sooner than many fans were hoping, there is a new energy surrounding this team that should boil over into the next season.

While the loss stings, the Jags put up a great fight against who many consider to be the best team in the league, and have positioned themselves for an incredibly bright future. If you missed the final game of the Jaguars’ season, you can briefly get up to speed here:

1st Quarter

The Chiefs opened by kicking off to the Jaguars. After a 3-and-Out and a Logan Cooke punt that put the Chiefs at the 17 yard line, Mahomes and Kelce marched them down 83 yards in 6 minutes for a touchdown. On the ensuing kick, Agnew broke open the kick coverage to put the Jaguars at the Chief’s 39 yard line. The drive, extended by a 19 yard run on 3rd-and-1 by Travis Etienne, was capped off by a beautiful 10-yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk, tying the game 7-7. Chiefs closed the quarter driving, but Mahomes limped off and was in noticeable pain going into the break.

2nd Quarter

The Chiefs drive stalls out after the Mahomes injury, and Butker caps it off with a 50-yard field goal to put the Chiefs ahead 10-7. The following drive started with promise, but stalled out after a tripping penalty and sack, each given up by Walker Little. Logan Cooke pins the Chiefs at their own 2, who have to bring out Chad Henne as Mahomes is sent into the locker room for examination.

A dropped INT by Foye Olouokon after a tip by Davon Hamilton kept Henne’s drive alive. Pacheco broke outside for a 39-yard run down to the goal line, and the drive is capped by a 1-yard pass to give Kelce his second TD and put the Chiefs ahead by 10. The Jaguar’s final possession of the half was nearly broken wide open, but a bomb from Trevor Lawrence fell just beyond Kirk as he ran behind the Chief’s secondary. Instead the Jags settled for a field goal, and the teams return to the locker room with the Chiefs holding a 17-10 lead.

3rd Quarter

Mahomes re-entered the game to begin the second half for Kansas City. The teams traded 4 punts consecutively, one of which was forced by a massive 3rd-and-1 stand following a failed challenge by Andy Reid on the preceding 2nd down play. Following the exchange of punts, the Chiefs constructed a good drive helped by a 27-yard toss to TE Noah Gray. After nearly being pushed out of field goal range due to an offensive pass interference by Juju Smith-Schuster, Butker connected on another 50-yard field goal to extend the Chiefs’ lead to 20-10 as we enter the final frame.

4th Quarter

The 4th Quarter began following a vicious sack by Derrick Nnadi that put the Jaguars facing 2nd and 18 deep in their own territory. Trevor Lawrence led a masterful response including timely 3rd down passes and runs. A classic Doug Pederson playcall allowed Christian Kirk to break an 18-yard end-around that Travis Etienne immediately followed by plunging in for a score to cut the lead down to 20-17. The Chiefs answered with an extended drive aided by a pair of Jaguar penalties and a questionable no-call on a push-off by Juju Smith-Schuster against Tyson Campbell. Mahomes ended the drive by delivering a strike to Valdez-Scantling in the back of the endzone, and the Chiefs lead extends back up to 27-17.

Attempting to answer the Chiefs with a counterpunch of their own, Agnew sets the Jaguars up with favorable field position after being tripped up by the kicker as he looked to break loose. Despite a few close calls and excellent defensive plays by Juan Thornhill, the Jags found their way to goal-to-go after Trevor Lawrence laid a punishing hit on LaJarious Sneed to cap off a clutch run on 3rd-and-10. On 1st-and-goal, Agnew loses control of a catch, and the Chiefs defense is able to swarm and recover the fumble on the 3 yard line.

Fortunately, the Jaguars quickly got the ball back after forcing a 3-and-out. On the second play of the drive, a blown interior blocking package let a free runner at Trevor and forced him into a bad pass that rookie Jaylen Watson was able to snag out of the air with one hand, effectively killing the Jaguars’ final hope to mount a comeback. A late field goal cut the lead to 7 and certainly made a portion of the gambling public happy, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by KC and the magic this team has provided us for the back half of the season officially came to an end.

The Jaguars kept finding opportunities to put the pressure on late by stringing together stops, but 2 costly turnovers on Jacksonville’s final meaningful drives kept the Jags from shocking the NFL world with another Houdini act. Missed opportunities in the second quarter, including drops of an INT by Foye and a potential touchdown by Christian Kirk, kept the Jaguars in a first-half hole in a game that easily could have seen a tie or a Jag’s lead at halftime.

Many fans, myself included, are certainly going to feel some frustration wondering how those what-if plays could have flipped the result. Fortunately, this is a young team that found its stride late in the season. There will be plenty more opportunities for Lawrence and Peterson to meet these Chiefs and compete at a high level, but for now the team will have to go home holding its head high.