The Jacksonville Jaguars offense didn’t look like a scary unit in Week 2. It struggled to get out of neutral against the Kansas City Chiefs and never scored a touchdown in the 17-9 loss.
While it was a rough day for the Jaguars, it also wasn’t without its bright spots. A couple players stood out on offense even if they couldn’t find the end zone, and the Jacksonville defense did well to hold the always potent Chiefs to 17 points.
Buy Jaguars TicketsHere are some studs and duds from the Jaguars’ Week 2 home loss against the Chiefs:
Stud: S Andre Cisco
.@JoshAllen41_ with the pressure, @andrecisco7 with the PICK!#KCvsJAX on CBS pic.twitter.com/pEk1roatu8
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 17, 2023
To the surprise of nobody, Patrick Mahomes was tough to stop Sunday. He didn’t shred the Jaguars with many deep balls, though, and only connected on one pass over 20 yards on the day before finally hitting a bomb in the final minute. His relatively low-key day was largely due to the Jaguars’ free safety patrolling the middle of the secondary.
After dropping an interception early in the game, Cisco got his redemption later when he hauled in a pick in the second quarter — the second of his career against Mahomes.
Stud: P Logan Cooke
We’ll take that!@Timnjones5 | #KCvsJAX on CBS pic.twitter.com/okunXBxiLK
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 17, 2023
Part of the Chiefs’ early offensive struggles can be attributed to their rough field position. After the Jaguars’ first three offensive possessions ended with punts, Cooke dropped each inside the 20-yard line.
One of those punts came down with an awkward spin, was muffed by Kansas City’s Richie James, and recovered by Tim Jones.
Dud - QB Trevor Lawrence
It wasn’t a disastrous day for the Jaguars’ third-year quarterback, but it certainly wasn’t good enough either.
Lawrence completed just 53.7 percent of his passes and frequently overthrew Jaguars receivers in the red zone. Even his biggest play of the day, a 45-yard bomb to Christian Kirk, was off the mark and forced the receiver to give up a lot of ground.
Jacksonville needs a better version of Lawrence if it hopes to get the offense back on track.
Stud: TE Evan Engram
Engram rumbled his way to 57 yards on six receptions and a lot of that yardage came through pure grit and determination.
The Jaguars tight end frequently bulldozed his way through and over Kansas City defenders Sunday. It was also Engram who drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up the Jaguars on the one-yard line, although they blew the opportunity.
Stud: WR Christian Kirk
After catching only one pass last week, Kirk was Trevor Lawrence’s favorite target in Week 2.
The 11 receptions on the day were a career-high for Kirk, who finished with 110 receiving yards. While he dropped a third down pass that would’ve been a first down, Kirk made up for it on the next drive when he hauled in a 45-yard bomb.
Dud: WR/RS Jamal Agnew
The Jaguars’ only turnover of the game came when a pass intended for Agnew was dropped, ruled a lateral, and recovered by the Chiefs. Later he caught a pass in the middle of the field on third down and hit the ground immediately, nearly costing the Jaguars a first down in the process.
Dud: OC Press Taylor
Doug Pederson clarified earlier this week that Taylor isn’t entirely new to calling the Jaguars’ plays. The offensive coordinator called offensive play-calls during the second half of games in 2022. Pederson also defended Taylor for the second week, saying that the issue Sunday was execution not play-calling.
It’s hard to not look to Taylor at least a little bit, though.
Perhaps the most egregious error made by the Jaguars offense was not running up the middle at all after getting set up with a first-and-goal on the 1-yard line. That’s a play-calling problem.
Stud - S Rayshawn Jenkins
Jenkins spent much of his day in the box and was all over the place for the Jacksonville defense. Jenkins finished with eight tackles and is a significant reason why Travis Kelce was held in check, finishing with only 26 receiving yards.
Dud - Jaguars offensive line
Lawrence was sacked four times Sunday and Travis Etienne Jr. struggled to find much running room, finishing with 40 yards on 12 carries.
While Chris Jones is a tough assignment for any lineman, it was just about everybody on the Chiefs defensive line that made an impact. Walker Little kept the left side of the line mostly clean, but the interior and right side of the Jaguars offensive line struggled.
