KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ So, first things first: The Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, 19-14. That is what many expected them to do against a well-under-.500 team whose head coach, Gus Bradley, may well be on the hot seat.
But it's not like the Chiefs, who improved to 6-2, looked good doing it. Can't say that.
Yes, they made a few plays when necessary, and yes, there were some entertaining moments _ largely provided by the ejection of Travis Kelce and an impromptu "punt" celebration by Marcus Peters _ but anyone hoping to see a complete, dominating performance at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday left disappointed.
For one, the running game _ against the league's 27th-ranked defense _ was subpar. The Chiefs rushed for just 62 yards on 22 carries, a woeful 2.8 yards-per-carry average. They couldn't stop the run, either, as the Jaguars' 30th-ranked run offense churned out 205 yards on 32 carries.
But what the Chiefs could and did do was force turnovers. Oh, they did that. They intercepted Bortles once and recovered three fumbles, and that � plus a late fourth-quarter stop by the defense � was enough to lift a largely out-of-sync offense that was without its starting quarterback (Alex Smith), running back (Spencer Ware) and receiver (Jeremy Maclin, who left with a groin injury).
And for that, the Chiefs deserve credit. This was, perhaps, as much of a "trap" game a contest against a 2-6 team could be. But the Jaguars also did a nice job beating themselves, and it started early, too.
On their second drive, receiver Allen Robinson had a step on Phillip Gaines down the sideline, but he couldn't haul in a slightly-overthrown deep ball by quarterback Blake Bortles. And after a forcing a Chiefs punt, Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen stripped receiver Bryan Walters on the return, giving the Chiefs the ball at the Jaguars' 23.
A few plays later, Chiefs quarterback Nick Foles _ who completed 20 of 33 passes for 187 yards in Smith's place _ found receiver Albert Wilson up top for a 23-yard touchdown that put the Chiefs ahead 7-0.
The Jaguars drove down the field on their next drive thanks to a surprisingly potent ground game and the Chiefs' inability to tackle, but that drive again died out when Bradley decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs' 30, and receiver Allen Hurns _ who was open with a step on his man _ dropped another pass from Bortles.
The Chiefs' offense, which mustered all of 126 first-half yards, couldn't put anything together, but it didn't really matter. Bortles, who has been plagued by questionable decision-making and inconsistent mechanics, set up the Chiefs' next score by throwing an interception directly to inside linebacker Ramik Wilson, who returned it to the Jaguars' 13-yard line. A Cairo Santos field-goal gave the Chiefs a 10-0 lead with nine minutes, 54 seconds left in the half.
The Jaguars cut into that lead thanks to a little help from the Chiefs. On their final drive of the half, the Chiefs had the Jaguars stopped and third-and-5 from the Chiefs' 6 _ cornerback Steven Nelson had tight coverage on Hurns on a fade � but Nelson was whistled for pass interference, extending the drive and giving the Jaguars the ball on the Chiefs' 1 with 18 seconds left. A few plays later _ after safety Ron Parker dropped an interception thrown right to him � Bortles fired a bullet to Allen Robinson over the middle for a 1-yard score that cut the Chiefs' halftime lead to 10-7.
Almost immediately, the Jaguars proceeded to return to their charitable ways. Gaines knocked the ball out of T.J. Yeldon's grasp on the Jaguars' opening possession of the second half, and Nelson recovered to give the Chiefs the ball at the Jaguars' 38-yard line. The offense remained stuck in neutral, but Santos drilled a 51-yard field goal to increase the Chiefs' lead to six early in the third.
A huge 36-yard punt return by Tyreek Hill set up the Chiefs' next scoring drive. That return, plus a 10-yard holding penalty on Jacksonville, helped the Chiefs start the drive at the Jaguars' 30-yard line. The offense still couldn't find its way into the end zone � Foles' best shot came via a second-and-5 pass from the 8 that was behind a wide-open Hill _ opening the door for yet another Santos field goal, this time from 24 yards, to put the Chiefs ahead 16-7 with around four minutes left in the third.
Jacksonville got the ball back and tried to put something together, marching all the way to the Chiefs' 36. But on third-and-5, outside linebacker Dee Ford _ who had already racked up two sacks (he has a team-high nine) by that point _ hurried Bortles, forcing an errant throw. The ensuing 54-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide, and the Chiefs remained in control entering the fourth.
The Chiefs sought to put the Jaguars away for good shortly thereafter, marching all the way to the Jaguars' 12. But that's when a silly penalty by Kelce threatened it all.
Kelce, who was upset with a pass-interference no-call, yelled and gestured toward two referees before walking back to the huddle. Once he turned his back, however, one of the refeeres threw a flag at Kelce for unsportsmanlike conduct, prompting an enraged Kelce to turn back toward the referees and fire what appeared to be a towel his way.
This prompted a second unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and an ejection, as the Chiefs _ who were already without Smith, Ware and Maclin � were now without their second-best receiving threat.
Fortunately for Kelce, the Chiefs' coaching staff � and Santos � had his back. They dialed up a smart screen to Charcandrick West on third-and-34, and West gained 24 yards, helping the Chiefs get back into field-goal range. Santos converted from 36 yards out to put the Chiefs ahead 19-0.
Still, the Jaguars threatened to seize the momentum when receiver Marqise Lee got behind Marcus Peters for a 51-yard gain that gave the Jaguars the ball at the Chiefs' 3. But true to form, the Jaguars beat themselves once again, as running back Chris Ivory _ who rushed 18 times for 107 yards _ was stripped across the goal line by defensive tackle Jaye Howard, and Peters recovered it to save the day.
The Jaguars challenged the call _ it appears Ivory might have crossed the goal line before fumbling � but the referees did not reverse it. They also did not see, apparently, Peters punt the ball into the stands following the recovery, a celebration with enough enthusiasm to match the significance of the play.
But after yet another Chiefs drive came up empty, the Jaguars finally scored, courtesy of a 13-yard toss from Bortles to Yeldon. And after another Chiefs drive stalled out, the Jaguars got the ball back at their own 35 with approximately three minutes left.
At that point, the Jaguars only needed a touchdown to take the lead and shock the Chiefs. But the defense stepped up again. Dontari Poe got a big third-and-1 run stuff in Chiefs territory, and Nelson broke up the fourth-down pass to force the turnover on downs and essentially clinch a hard-earned, but not necessarily well-played, win before their looming road test against the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
