Chiefs withstand Mahomes injury, punch fifth straight AFC Championship ticket with win over Jaguars

01/22/2023

Covered University of Florida for 13 seasons for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union
Graduate of Jacksonville University
Multiple APSE award winner

Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
Joined ESPN in 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs probably don’t want to make a habit of this, but they won a playoff game on Saturday with Patrick Mahomes on the bench for a significant portion of time because of a right ankle injury.

Backup Chad Henne was in for just one possession, not counting a kneel-down at the end of the first half. He made it count, leading a franchise playoff record 98-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that helped the Chiefs stay in front in an eventual 27-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round.

Mahomes returned to the game in the second half and was effective, so it is expected that he will be available to play in next week’s AFC Championship Game against Buffalo or Cincinnati. But the Chiefs have reason to believe they would operate efficiently if Henne has to play.

Kansas City Chiefs

Describe the game in two words: Tough break. Not a literal break but the Mahomes injury came at the worst possible moment for the Chiefs, in the playoffs.

Pivotal play: Isiah Pacheco’s 39-yard run in the second quarter happened with Henne in the game and Mahomes on the sideline and was the big play on the 98-yard touchdown drive led by the backup quarterback. The play led to the score that put the Chiefs ahead 17-7.

Eye-popping Next Gen stat: Pacheco got to a top speed of 20.97 mph on his 39-yard run, the top speed of his career according to NFL Next Gen stats. The 39-yard gain was 36 yards over expected.

Under the radar stat that matters: Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was just 3-of-7 during the regular season on field goals of 50 yards or more. But he made two of 50 yards against the Jaguars. — Adam Teicher

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t ready to compete with the AFC’s elite teams — yet. But they’re closer than they have been in five years. Winning the AFC South in Week 18 was a surprise — helped significantly by the Tennessee Titans’ late-season swoon — and it put the Jaguars in the playoffs a year or two earlier than most expected. But the loss in Kansas City on Saturday night highlighted the weaknesses the Jaguars have to address before they can consistently compete — and beat — the Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals for AFC supremacy.

The Jaguars got some key defensive stops and big plays during the second half of the season, such as Rayshawn Jenkins’ interception return for a touchdown against Dallas and Jenkins’ strip sack and Josh Allen’s fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Titans, but the Jaguars were unable to come up with one against the Chiefs. They pressured Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the first half but were unable to get to him in the second half when he was clearly hobbling. They also allowed tight end Travis Kelce to pretty much roam the field untouched until after he caught a pass.

Describe the game in two words: Missed opportunities. All week the Jaguars talked about capitalizing on opportunities because they didn’t do that in the first meeting against the Chiefs. There was no bigger opportunity on Saturday than Mahomes hobbling around for the entire second half, but the defense gave up a 98-yard touchdown drive to backup QB Chad Henne and couldn’t force Mahomes into a turnover. The Jaguars also missed on three critical plays in the first half, all of which could have led to points.

Linebacker Foye Oluokun was unable to catch a ball deflected by defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton inside the Kansas City 30-yard line, running back JaMycal Hasty dropped a third-down pass that could have put the Jaguars in position to try a long field goal and receiver Christian Kirk dropped a deep throw that would have given the Jaguars the ball inside the Kansas City 15-yard line. The Jaguars eventually got a field goal on the drive where Kirk dropped the pass, but that’s a potential 10 more points (at least) they left on the field.

Pivotal play: The Jaguars committed two fourth-quarter turnovers that doomed their comeback attempt. Jamal Agnew fumbled after a catch at the 3-yard line and quarterback Trevor Lawrence underthrew a pass to Zay Jones that got intercepted. Agnew’s fumble was the team’s first red-zone turnover since Week 8. The Jaguars were trailing by 10 points each time they turned it over and ran out of time to complete what would have been their eighth come-from-behind victory this season.

Silver lining: The Jaguars offense finished 10th in yards and points per game in 2022, and there’s optimism things could be even better next season with the arrival of receiver Calvin Ridley, especially if the team re-signs tight end Evan Engram. The Jaguars traded for Ridley in November and if he’s cleared from his suspension for gambling in February then he can join the team when the offseason program begins in April. Ridley will give the Jaguars a No. 1 receiver to pair with Kirk, who is one of the league’s better slot receivers, and Jones. — Michael DiRocco

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