Trevor Lawrence fell down, laid down, got up and fought his way to a win.
At the same time, the Chiefs watched it all happen without much resistance, giving themselves a long, quiet flight back to Kansas City.
On Monday night, the Chiefs raced to a 14–0 lead and then slowly fell apart before losing 31–28 on Lawrence’s one-yard odyssey that could prove a turning point for both teams.
It was the kind of game Kansas City rarely loses, and after starting 0–2, couldn’t afford to give away.
While Patrick Mahomes’s 99-yard pick-six courtesy of Devin Lloyd was the key play, the real culprit of the Chiefs’ losing effort was a defense that couldn’t get a stop (two holding penalties by the kick return unit didn’t help either). Leading by 14 points midway through the second quarter, the Jaguars had third-and-15 on their own 25-yard line. Corner Jaylen Watson slipped and then committed pass interference, extending the drive.
Later in that Jacksonville march, Lawrence threw a deep ball that clanked off the hands of receiver Tim Patrick and All-Pro slot corner Trent McDuffie. Linebacker Nick Bolton, who earlier made a touchdown-saving play by stripping Lawrence at the goal line, had an easy interception. Then teammate Drue Tranquill ran into him, knocking the ball harmlessly to the ground.
In the third quarter, Kansas City pinned the Jaguars at their own 13-yard line. Jacksonville then went 87 yards on seven plays, capped by Lawrence scoring for the first of two times with his legs on a 10-yard scramble.
Then, finally, the Chiefs’ defense had one more mess left in it. After Mahomes led the offense on a 12-play, 86-yard touchdown drive to take a 28–24 lead with 1:45 remaining, kicker Harrison Butker drilled the kickoff out of bounds. Still, the Chiefs had Lawrence in third-and-13 at the 15-yard line, only for safety Chamarri Conner to commit a clear pass interference foul, wiping away a Bryan Cook interception. The next play then saw Lawrence trip, fall, cover the ball, lay on the ball, get up and run into the end zone for the game-winning score with 23 seconds remaining.
When the smoke clears, the Chiefs will face their reality. They’re 2–3 and a game out of first place in the AFC West, held by the Chargers and the Broncos. But they also face the streaking Lions on a short week come Sunday night, while Denver draws the winless Jets and Los Angeles gets a Dolphins team that is on the verge of implosion after a loss to the Panthers.
If things don’t go well for Kansas City in six days against the 4–1 Lions, there’s a real chance it will be two games back of the Chargers and Broncos, with a loss already on the books to Los Angeles in Week 1.
For the past nine years, there hasn’t been much doubt as to who would win the AFC West. The Chiefs have rolled to that title, largely on the back of Mahomes and a nasty Steve Spagnuolo-led defense.
The good news? Outside of Mahomes’s interception, which was also a great play by Lloyd, the offense looks back. Kansas City scored 37 points last week in a demolition of the Ravens and then racked up another 28 on Monday while amassing 476 yards on 7.6 yards per play. But the effort was undone by a critical turnover at the goal line and 13 penalties, including two on the secondary which changed the complexion of the game.
Barring something unforeseen, Kansas City will make the playoffs in what is a weak AFC, even if it loses at home to Jared Goff and Detroit. The schedule eases up after that, with the Chiefs almost certainly favorites in every game, save for their trip to play the Bills in Week 9.
But this was a horrific loss for the Chiefs, who, until Week 1, had a 17-game winning streak in one-score games to set an NFL record. Kansas City, now 0–3 in one-score games this season, was in firm control of Monday night’s game, only to see it slip away due to a combination of game-winning plays by the Jaguars, and game-losing plays by the three-time defending AFC champs.
It was a night of frustration and missed opportunity. A night where Lawrence appeared down and beaten, only to rise up and shock the Chiefs.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sloppy Chiefs Dig Themselves Into an Even Deeper Hole With Disastrous Jaguars Loss.
