JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s Monday Night Football in Jacksonville as the Kansas City Chiefs come to town to take on the Jaguars, dawned in their prowler throwbacks. It’s a huge opportunity for Jacksonville to prove they belong in playoff discussions and to move to 4-1 to keep pace with the Colts in the AFC South race.
Let’s take a look at some of the game’s top matchups.
Travis Etienne vs Chiefs’ Defense
The Chiefs’ Defense has overall been pretty solid this season, despite a slower start to the season than Kansas City might be used to. The pass-rush and secondary have been as good as ever, however, it’s been their run-defense that has been the more vulnerable aspect of the unit.
The Chiefs are allowed 4.9 yards per carry on defense, 27th best in the NFL. They are also allowed a staggering 1.66 yards before contact, just 29th best. If the Jaguars want to get rolling early, in what might be a wet and sloppy game, it should come on the ground.
Travis Etienne leads the NFL with 6.1 yards per carry and the Jaguars rank fourth on the ground as a team. Trevor Lawrence and company are still working through some early struggles in the air, but the Chiefs’ defense is susceptible on the ground and the Jaguars should take advantage.
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Jaguars Run-D vs Isaiah Pacheco/ Kareem Hunt
The Chiefs have struggled and struggled mightily on the ground. Patrick Mahomes is the team’s leading rusher through four weeks as the team’s lead backs are averaging just 3.6 yards per carry on the season. It certainly doesn’t help that Kansas City ranks 31st in yards after contact either.
It also doesn’t bode well for them that they face a Jaguars’ defense that has excelled in run-defense despite light boxes and personnel. The Jaguars are allowing just 3.9 yards per carry and the fourth fewest rushing yards per game of any team.
Truthfully, the health and status of Travon Walker might make more of a difference in run-defense than as a pass-rusher. He’s one of the league’s premier run-defenders at the position.
Brian Thomas Jr vs Trent McDuffie
This week figures to be another tough matchup for Brian Thomas Jr, who has still yet to really put it all together this season. He seems to be getting closer, however. Brian Thomas Jr has caught just 37.5% of his targets this season as drops have been a recurring problem for him and the team as a whole.
That said, he caught a season high five balls against San Francisco and the team posted zero drops for the first time this season. Unsurprisingly, the offense looked a lot better as a result.
The Chiefs’ pass defense, however, is pretty darn good. On the season, Kansas City has allowed just three deep ball completions and Trent McDuffie’s All-Pro campaign continues as he is allowing just 56% of his targets to be completed. He is the seventh most targeted cornerback this season though.
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