NFL News & Analysis

NFL Divisional Round Game Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 20

Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts after running the ball for first down against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half in the AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Despite a serious Patrick Mahomes injury scare in the first half, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to escape Saturday's divisional round playoff matchup with a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Outside of figuring out the extent of Mahomes' lower leg injury, the Chiefs will now turn their attention toward Sunday's Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals tilt to find out their opponent in next week's AFC conference championship game. The Jaguars will now turn their attention to the offseason after an extremely successful season in which they improved their win total by six games and won a playoff game.

Offensive Spotlight: While Mahomes' performance while gutting through an injury was impressive in its own right, Travis Kelce was the game's best offensive performer, finishing with a career-high 14 receptions from 17 targets for 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He picked up seven first downs on the day and finished with 2.88 yards per route run.

Even in a loss, Jaguars running back Travis Etienne had a notable day, picking up 62 rushing yards from 10 carries in addition to three receptions for 18 yards. Most impressively, Etienne forced five missed tackles on the ground, which enabled him to 41 yards after contact.

Defensive Spotlight: While there weren't a ton of standout defensive performances, Chiefs interior defender Chris Jones proved why he's one of the NFL premier defenders, finishing with a game-high six total pressures to go with a stop. Even though it was a modest performance by Jones' usual playoff standards, he still was one of the game's most impactful defenders.

Chiefs defensive back Jaylen Watson made a few huge plays for the Chiefs defense on Saturday, as he finished with three tackles, quarterback hit an interception on the day.

Rookie Spotlight: Chiefs rookie running back Isiah Pacheco‘s first playoff performance was mighty impressive, as he totaled 95 rushing yards from just 12 carries en route to a 70.0-plus rushing grade on first review. He forced one missed tackle and picked up two explosive runs on the day.

Offensive Line Spotlight: With Mahomes basically on one foot for half the game, the Chiefs offensive line provided him with great pass protection after a worrisome start. Altogether, Kansas City allowed just six pressures and no sacks against Jacksonville's notable pass rush. Additionally, the Chiefs offensive line helped paved the way for 140 rushing yards as well.


Box Score

Passing
Jacksonville Jaguars
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Trevor Lawrence 14.28 24 / 39 217 5.6 1 1
Kansas City Chiefs
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Patrick Mahomes 16.6 22 / 30 195 6.5 2 0
Chad Henne 4.82 5 / 7 23 3.3 1 0
Rushing
Jacksonville Jaguars
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Christian Kirk 20 1 18 18 0 18
Travis Etienne Jr. 17 10 62 6.2 1 19
Trevor Lawrence 14.28 3 26 8.7 0 12
JaMycal Hasty 5.3 4 36 9 0 23
Jamal Agnew 1.7 1 2 2 0 2
Kansas City Chiefs
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Patrick Mahomes 16.6 3 8 2.7 0 5
Isiah Pacheco 11.1 12 95 7.9 0 39
Kadarius Toney 10 1 14 14 0 14
Chad Henne 4.82 1 -1 -1 0 -1
Noah Gray 3.7 1 0 0 0 0
Jerick McKinnon 2.5 11 25 2.3 0 7
Skyy Moore 1.3 1 3 3 0 3
Receiving
Jacksonville Jaguars
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPR TD
Christian Kirk 20 14 7 52 7.4 1
Travis Etienne Jr. 17 3 3 18 6 0
Zay Jones 13.3 7 5 83 16.6 0
Evan Engram 8.1 6 5 31 6.2 0
JaMycal Hasty 5.3 2 1 7 7 0
Marvin Jones Jr. 3.1 3 1 21 21 0
Jamal Agnew 1.7 3 2 5 2.5 0
Kansas City Chiefs
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPR TD
Travis Kelce 35.8 17 14 98 7 2
Isiah Pacheco 11.1 1 1 6 6 0
Kadarius Toney 10 7 5 36 7.2 0
Marquez Valdes-Scantling 7.6 2 1 6 6 1
JuJu Smith-Schuster 4.9 2 2 29 14.5 0
Noah Gray 3.7 2 1 27 27 0
Justin Watson 2.2 1 1 12 12 0
Blake Bell 1.4 2 1 4 4 0
Skyy Moore 1.3 1 1 0 0 0

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