Are you ready for some Chiefs football?
Like the past three seasons, the Chiefs Wire staff will offer its weekly predictions for each Chiefs game. Here are our picks for Kansas City’s Week 1 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Charles Goldman’s pick: Chiefs win 34-19
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @goldmctNFL
A left tackle problem, distractions from Hurricane Dorian and a new offensive scheme are just a few of the mounting concerns for Jaguars heading into this one. The Chiefs, on the other hand, are wholly healthy and ready to get the 2019 football season underway.
There will probably be a few hiccups from Steve Spagnuolo’s new defense, but that is to be expected within the early weeks of the season. The big benefit that the Chiefs have is the starters have played a lot of repetitions together during the preseason. Not a lot of teams can say the same thing, including the Jaguars. Nick Foles threw just 10 passes, appearing in only the third preseason game for the Jaguars.
I locked in my scoring prediction earlier this week, appearing on a few different podcasts. I still feel pretty confident about that score and will stick with it.
Wesley Roesch’s pick: Chiefs win 38-16
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @WesleyRoesch
I was going to pick the Chiefs anyways, but the Jaguars missing their starting left tackle puts the icing on the cake for what I think will be a blowout. I’m not sure how good the Chiefs’ defense will be, but I don’t fear Nick Foles at all. I also expect Frank Clark to take advantage of the Jags’ missing pieces.
On the other side of the ball, we all know how unstoppable the Chiefs’ offense is. Plus, Tyreek Hill will (probably) be extra pumped after receiving a contract extension. I expect a huge game from Kansas City with Jacksonville getting some garbage-time points at the end.
Nicolas Roesch’s pick: Chiefs win 30-17
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @Nicolas_Roesch
The Chiefs will want to start fast in this game because the Jaguars aren’t built to come from behind. Nick Foles is the definition of an average quarterback and his skill position players don’t strike fear into anyone. Jacksonville will need to dominate on the ground and control the clock to have any chance at victory.
The Chiefs’ offense will do its thing, move the ball consistently and score often. It’s Week 1, so there will be a few kinks to work out. I have K.C. scoring three touchdowns and having to settle for three Harrison Butker field goals. Ultimately, the Chiefs will lead for most of the game and force a couple of Jags’ turnovers late as they try to keep up.
John Dillon’s pick: Chiefs win 34-28
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @TheJohnDillon
Kansas City will start their bid for the Lombardi Trophy in Jacksonville Florida against a Jaguars team known for their defense. Literally, in the wake of a hurricane, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ star-studded offense will do battle with a defensive juggernaut with All-Pro level talent at each position. This game has all the makings of a “trap game” are present, anyone picking against the Red and Gold is kidding themselves.
This offense is a culmination of a process years in the making. The home-grown kid who won MVP his first year starting, a freshly inked receiver who can make any play a touchdown, the best tight end in the game, and a trio of running backs so deep that Lesean McCoy is a second, maybe even third option.
Defensively, Kansas City remains an enigma, but Steve Spagnolo seems to have inspired faith from both Chiefs brass and the fanbase, even if the secondary could still use another playmaker. Frank Clark, Chris Jones, and Tyrann Mathieu are going to have huge shoes to fill with expectations at an all-time high, and this first game will likely come down to their contributions on defense.
Kansas City showed last year that they’re capable of winning a shootout, even against the best teams. Nick Foles and Leonard Fournette are nice pieces on the Jaguars offense but their offensive line is a huge question mark even with the return of Cam Robinson. It’ll be interesting to see how Jacksonville’s coaching staff approaches this game offensively given their limitations, and how Kansas City fares against a team likely to go for the throat early and often against such a high powered offense.
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Vinciane Ngomsi’s pick: Chiefs win 34-17
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @VincianeNgomsi
A new and improved Chiefs defense is sure to give the Jacksonville offense some trouble, but I (and probably other Chiefs fans), won’t place as much confidence in them until at least the third week when Kansas City is hopefully 3-0. If they can find a way to suppress Nick Foles for at least the first half, then I believe they’ll start the season 1-0. Should they force multiple turnovers, then fans will be convinced that offloading Bob Sutton was the best offseason decision.
Offense wise, I expect Patrick Mahomes and company to pick up right where they left off. The reigning MVP and Travis Kelce will combine to score the team’s first touchdown of the year and Tyreek Hill will soon follow suit. The only reason why I doubt Kansas City’s run game will pick up steam is that Jacksonville will make every attempt to suppress the run early and often. There will undoubtedly be some hiccups, but nothing Andy Reid and the Chiefs won’t be able to overcome.
Danilo Di Julio’s pick: Chiefs win 37-14
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @ThunderDan88
It’s Week 1 and Chiefs Kingdom is salty. Being salty is a trend with me this week, listen to our podcast and you’ll understand.
The Chiefs draw a decent week one challenge in the Jaguars but it should be a winnable game for Kansas City. In a league where the cliche is ‘any given Sunday’, I believe that line does not apply in this case. The Chiefs have too much speed, too much depth and frankly, too much quarterback for Jacksonville to handle. I expect the Chiefs to win this one handily.
Talon Graff’s pick: Chiefs win 28-13
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @CoachGraff34
While I expect the Chiefs to leave Jacksonville with a win, I do think the Jaguars will not make it a simple trip. The Todd Wash-led defense still has a troubling front seven. Myles Jack is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and the Jaguars rewarded him with a new contract. Yannick Ngakoue is one of the pass rushers and in last year’s matchup recorded the only sack in the game for Jacksonville. The defense also picked Mahomes off twice and prevented him from throwing a touchdown, the only team to do so in 2018. Mahomes was able to run in a score, however.
The Chiefs defense, as bad as they were last year, gave the Jaguars fits. Picking Blake Bortles off four times and sacking him five times was the ultimate difference in this game. Chris Jones even returned an interception for six. A quarterback change took place as Bortles signed with the Rams and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles was given a hefty contract. The Jaguars have a talented receiving group for Foles. There is also a formidable offensive line to keep him upright. The offense should punch one in but the Chiefs defense will force a couple drives to stall and force field goals.
Kevin Scott’s pick: Chiefs win 34-24
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @KevinScottFF
This game should include a great matchup between a strong Jaguars defense and a great Chiefs offense. Look for Andy Reid to bring plenty of new looks early in the game to try to pop a big play or two and take a lead. The Jaguars’ defense typically plays fairly straight up and does not show a lot of exotic looks, so I anticipate Patrick Mahomes will take full advantage of his improved knowledge and experience.
With Tyreek Hill shadowed by Jalen Ramsey, I think he will look in the direction of Travis Kelce, Damien Williams, and even Demarcus Robinson or Mecole Hardman early. After feeling out the defense, Mahomes will find an opening or two and get the Chiefs an early lead. The Jags offense should have plenty of opportunities to attack the weakest area of the Chiefs defense, the corners on the edge, with Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley. But I think the new Steve Spagnuolo defense will hold up and allow the Chiefs to coast to victory late.
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Ed Easton’s pick: Chiefs win 28-14
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @EdEastonJr
The game will be exciting defensively as the new revamped Chiefs defense will show it’s offseason improvements under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Nick Foles will be hit early and often as he continues to nurse abdomen injury after big hits from members of the Chiefs defensive line. The biggest plays will be made in the second half as someone from the secondary will create a late-game turnover to officially seal the win.
Patrick Mahomes will continue his stellar play with at least three touchdown passes to Tyreke Hill, Sammy Watkins, and Travis Kelce. LeSean McCoy will get a few carries along with Damien Williams while Darwin Thompson will break out a big run from the backfield at some point in the second half. Chiefs walk out of Jacksonville victorious 28-14 continuing the swagger that made them dominant last season.
Mitch Carney’s pick: Chiefs win 31-13
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @MitchMitchcar11
I see the Chiefs easily winning this week as they open against the Jaguars. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense will come out and show that the offensive production from last season wasn’t a fluke. I expect Mahomes will throw for three touchdowns. Damien Williams will also have a good game as he gets his first touchdown of the season on the ground.
On the defensive side, I believe that the Chiefs will surprise some people as they keep the Jaguars out of the end zone until the fourth quarter in garbage time. I know the Jaguars have the former Super Bowl MVP in Nick Foles, but he hasn’t proven to me that he can be the difference-maker to carry a team to victory. The Chiefs pass rush will also be dominant this week as Chris Jones and Frank Clark each getting a sack to help Chiefs get their first win of the season.
Max Ramsey’s pick: Chiefs win 31-17
Season record: 0-0
Twitter: @The_Wild_Chief
While I don’t think the Jaguars are a push-over, this should be a game the Chiefs win. When these two teams faced off against each other in week five of last year Kansas City won 30-14. Mahomes may not have thrown any touchdowns, but he did see the end zone with a rushing touchdown on the day. Even with the two picks, he threw in that game he still managed to do some work through the air throwing for over 300 yards. Jalen Ramsey was able to keep Tyreek Hill’s effectiveness in that game to a minimum, but that just opened up the field for Kelce (100 yards) and Watkins (78 yards). Believe it or not, the defense actually performed at a high level in this game picking off Blake Bortles on four different occasions.
This year both teams come into the season with an overhaul on opposite sides of the ball with the Chiefs revamping their defense and the Jaguars hoping they found an answer at QB with Nick Foles. Both considered the major weakness of each team and clearly in need of change. This will likely be the aspect of the game most are watching, but where I think the Chiefs have the edge is in the strengths of both teams.
Kansas City is taking the 2018 league’s best offense and making it even more dangerous, whereas Jacksonville’s defense has potentially gotten worse. Everyone knows the Chiefs’ additions of Mecole Hardman, Lesean McCoy and Darwin Thompson as potentially explosive weapons for Mahomes will allow this offense to open up even more than last year. The Jaguars defense, however, lost key players from their defense in Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr. and Telvin Smith. They did manage to add a potential star in rookie LB Josh Allen, but overall I expect a decline for this defense. Chiefs win 31-17 after a late touchdown by Jacksonville to make the final score seem like it was competitive.
