The Jaguars hosted the Kansas City Chiefs at TIAA Bank Field in Week 1 hoping to give the home crowd a show and set the tone for the season. Unfortunately, Nick Foles suffered a season-ending injury and the Chiefs completely manhandled the Jaguars and were victorious 40-26.
While the play on the field wasn’t inspiring, there were some reasons for Jags fans not to hang their heads in disappointment. Here are some good, bad and ugly moments from the Jaguars’ season opener:
The good: The surprisingly wonderful play of Gardner Minshew
Minshew entered the game after Foles suffered a broken collarbone and would go on to throw 13 straight completions to start his career, which gave him an interesting achievement:
After a lackluster preseason, the Jaguars sixth-round pick out of Washington State would connect with receiver Dede Westbrook for his first NFL touchdown. Minshew would go on to finish his first official NFL game 22-of-25 and throwing for 275 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Minshew looked sharp throughout the entire game and will be the guy for heading forward due to Foles’ injury.
The good: DJ Chark’s huge breakout game
Chark had the biggest game of his career and almost single-handedly erased the Jaguars deficit. Whether it was Foles or Minshew at quarterback, the second-year receiver displayed some great separation in the middle of the field and also made a tough catch over the head of Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller for his first NFL touchdown.
Chark finished the game with four receptions and a career-high 146 receiving yards with a touchdown and an absurd 36.5 yards per reception.
This was easily the biggest game of Chark’s young career; he only tallied 174 receiving yards last season while battling injuries.
The bad: Too many penalties
This was an ugly, sloppy game from the Jaguars, who finished with 10 penalties for 71 yards. The ugliest moment came when linebacker Myles Jack threw a punch that struck Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in the head. Jack was immediately ejected.
The defense in total committed five penalties for 21 yards, including two on Jaguars safety Ronnie Harrison. The offense had an even worse day, committing five penalties for 50 yards.
The ugly: The disappearance of the Jaguars defense
The Chiefs have arguably the most potent offense in the NFL, with last year’s league MVP, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, leading the team. The way the rules are set up to give offensive players more of an advantage, coupled with the talent on the Chiefs, even a top-tier defense would struggle.
However, no one expected the Jaguars defense to struggle the way it did on Sunday.
Throughout the game, Chiefs receivers appeared to have absolute separation from Jaguars’ defenders. Sammy Watkins in particular had a field day, snagging nine receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns, while tight end Travis Kelce added with 88 receiving yards.
After the game, Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey showed his leadership by taking the blame for the defense.
The Jaguars defense will look to bounce back against the division-rival Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston. Hopefully, the Jaguars will be able to return to their form from 2017, when they were one of the top three defenses in the league.
What are your good, bad and ugly moments from the Jaguars vs. Chiefs game? Sound off in the comments below! Also, check out Robert Ricks on Twitter for all things Jacksonville Jaguars and make sure to follow the Jags Wire on Facebook and Twitter!
