We’re back with our Chiefs opponent preview series for the 2019 season. Each week, we will get to know Kansas City’s opponent and discuss what it will take for the Chiefs to come out on top. Each team provides a unique challenge and will require a different game plan.
K.C. will kick off the season on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are coming off a huge letdown of a season they entered with Super Bowl aspirations. They ended up finishing last in the AFC South with a 5-11 record.
The Chiefs, of course, won their third straight AFC West title in 2018 and finished as the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 12-4 record. They fell just short of reaching the Super Bowl, losing in overtime to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, 37-31.
Let’s get familiar with the 2019 Jaguars and see what it will take for a Chiefs victory.
CHIEFS-JAGUARS HISTORY
The all-time series between the Chiefs and Jags is tied 6-6. The two teams met last season in a Week 5 matchup at Arrowhead, which the Chiefs won 30-14.
via the NFL’s official YouTube channel
The Chiefs’ defensive struggles were well documented last season, but this was one of their best performances of the season. Quarterback Blake Bortles was intercepted four times, including a pick-six from defensive lineman Chris Jones.
This was the only game in 2018 in which Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t throw for a touchdown, though he did rush for one. Kicker Harrison Butker went 3 of 3 on field goal attempts.
JAGUARS’ KEY ADDITIONS
QB Nick Foles
WR Chris Conley
OL Cedric Ogbuehi
TE Geoff Swaim
JAGUARS’ KEY SUBTRACTIONS
DL Malik Jackson
WR Donte Moncrief
RB T.J. Yeldon
TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
QB Blake Bortles
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JAGUARS’ COACHING/SCHEMES
Doug Marrone has a 15-19 record since taking over as Jacksonville’s head coach late in the 2016 season. Despite taking a major step backward in 2018 after making it all the way to the AFC championship game in 2017, the Jaguar organization gave Marrone a vote of confidence and retained him. Marrone hired a new offensive coordinator, John DeFilippo, this offseason.
Offensive scheme
DeFilippo started 2018 as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings but was fired in mid-December. The two years previous to that he spent with the Philadelphia Eagles as quarterbacks coach, where he coached Nick Foles. The duo will look to recreate the success they had together in Philly, which ended with a Super Bowl victory.
DeFilippo runs a West Coast system with spread offense concepts. He frequently uses sets with multiple tight ends, including using what’s known as an F tight end, who can line up anywhere in the backfield, in line, in the slot or out wide.
DeFilippo’s rushing offense primarily uses zone blocking. It will be interesting to see how Leonard Fournette fits in a zone-blocking scheme, as he is probably better suited in a power blocking scheme with his smash-mouth running style.
It’s no secret that Marrone likes to establish the run to set up the pass. The Jaguars will look to control the clock with the running game and efficient play-action passing. DeFilippo also has a knack for getting his backs involved in the passing game; however, Fournette isn’t known for his receiving abilities.
Defensive scheme
Todd Wash is in his fourth season as Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator. He was an understudy of Gus Bradley, who is currently the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator and was formerly Jaguars head coach and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator.
Wash runs a 4-3 hybrid scheme very similar to Bradley’s. Expect to see Wash’s cornerbacks playing a lot of press-man coverage with a single high safety. He has awesome personnel to work with, including cornerbacks A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey.
Making matters tougher, Wash can often drop seven into coverage because the Jaguars have excellent pass rushers and consistently get to the quarterback by rushing only four. Defensive linemen Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue and Josh Allen should make for an excellent unit up front.
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JAGUARS’ KEY PLAYERS
QB Nick Foles
Foles’ career has been a mixed bag. We all remember his scorching-hot 2017 postseason run that culminated with a Super Bowl win with Philly, but outside of that, he’s been pretty average. He has never started more than 11 games in a season and has a career 26-18 record as a starter.
The big question with Foles is whether he can be an elite quarterback over the course of an entire season. It also remains to be seen whether he can elevate players around him. If the Jags fall behind big, can Foles carry the offense with his arm and win games?
RB Leonard Fournette
After a solid rookie season, Fournette struggled to find running room in 2018. He averaged just 3.3 yards per carry and never eclipsed 100 rushing yards in a game. He has also struggled with injuries in his first two seasons, missing a total of 11 games.
Fournette appears to be healthy and lighter. He dropped from 247 pounds to 228 in hopes to be faster and shiftier. He will still run with physicality and will be a load to bring down.
WR Dede Westbrook
Westbrook took a big leap in 2018, leading Jacksonville in receptions (66), yards (717) and touchdowns (five). He is a versatile receiver who can line up outside or in the slot and has plenty of speed.
The Jags aren’t very deep at receiver, which could mean an even more productive season for Westbrook in 2019.
DE Josh Allen
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft has looked excellent in training camp and preseason, and will play a major role in Jacksonville’s defense.
Though he’s listed as a defensive end, Allen can play all spots along the defensive line and even some linebacker. Expect him to line up all over.
CB Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey quickly established himself as one of the elite corners in the league, recording 193 combined tackles, 44 passes defended and nine interceptions in three seasons.
It should be a lot of fun watching Ramsey line up across from wide receiver Tyreek Hill; Todd Wash said Ramsey will shadow Hill for most of the game.
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KEY MATCHUPS
Tyreek Hill vs. Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey should be one-on-one with Hill for most of the game. This will be a matchup of two of the most elite players at their respective positions. On the three plays during last year’s game where they were matched up in coverage and the ball went to Hill, he caught two of four passes for 46 yards.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo vs. John DeFilippo
Spagnuolo and DeFilippo are both new coordinators on their respective teams and will try to overhaul units that were very weak in 2018. With it being Week 1, there is an element of the unknown, so the unit that is most prepared and makes the fewest mistakes will likely get the upper hand.
CB Charvarius Ward vs. Jags WRs
Cornerback is by far the weakest position on the Chiefs’ roster. One corner specifically who has a lot of question marks heading into the season is Ward. He played well down the stretch of last season, but it was only a few games.
During training camp and preseason, Ward was very inconsistent. He even surrendered some first-team snaps from guys who didn’t even make the final 53-man roster. If Ward doesn’t find his groove, he could be in for a long day against the veteran Foles.
Chiefs offensive line vs. Jags defensive line
Jacksonville has one of the most talented defensive lines in the league. It gets after the quarterback and doesn’t allow many 100-yard rushers. The Chiefs have two relatively inexperienced starting offensive linemen in guard Andrew Wylie and center Austin Reiter, who the Jags will surely try to exploit.
OVERVIEW
This is a matchup of two very different styles and philosophies. The way the Jaguars win this game is controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and dominating time of possession. If they are successfully running the ball and Foles feeds off of it with play-action, Jacksonville will have a great shot at a win.
On the flip side, if the Jags get down early and have to keep up in a shootout, the Chiefs should win this game with relative ease. K.C. proved it can hang 30 points on any defense and can only be contained for so long. The Chiefs’ defensive front seven will have to play aggressively and tackle with sound fundamentals.
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