The Jaguars and Chiefs will square off in prime time on Monday Night Football, with Jacksonville looking to maintain its unbeaten record at home in front of the fans at EverBank Stadium.
Liam Coen has the Jags off to a terrific start this season, with the team boasting a 3-1 record on the heels of back-to-back wins against the Texans and 49ers. Kansas City seems to have shrugged off the rust after an unexpected 0-2 start to the season, and they also enter Monday night's game with consecutive wins under their belt.
In recent years, the Chiefs have had a stranglehold on their matchup against the Jaguars. They've won the last eight matchups between the two sides, including one playoff game, and haven't been defeated by Jacksonville since 2009.
With both teams trending upwards, Patrick Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence will face off for the third time in their careers, Let's make some bold predictions for the prime-time clash.
NFL's Turnover Leaders Force Multiple Mistakes From Mahomes
The Jaguars' defense has forced the most turnovers in the NFL this season. They're averaging 3.3 takeaways per game heading into Monday night, having logged nine interceptions and four fumbles in their first four games. Last week against the 49ers, Coen's squad forced four turnovers against the Brock Purdy-led offense, and they'll look to carry that inspired performance into their prime-time tilt against Kansas City.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, have just one turnover this season. Patrick Mahomes threw an interception against the Eagles in Week 3, which is the only time Kansas City has given away the ball all year. While they haven't been at their best, they've done well to avoid turning over the football.
I'm expecting the Jaguars' defense to have another successful outing on Monday night, forcing a pair of takeaways against the Chiefs, including at least one interception against Mahomes.
Chiefs' Secondary Gives Trevor Lawrence Fits
Despite the Jaguars' 3-1 record, Lawrence isn't having the best season on offense. His receivers have dropped some critical balls, but he's also recorded four interceptions and completed just 58.3% of his passes through four games.
The Chiefs have one of the NFL's best passing defenses, having held opponents to just 185.8 passing yards per game thus far into the season. They haven't had too many takeaways themselves, with just four on the season, but they have the highest coverage grade in the NFL, per PFF, and I'm expecting them to come away with some big plays against Lawrence and Jacksonville.
I'm predicting the Chiefs' defense will hold Lawrence under 200 passing yards and force him into at least two turnovers.
Chiefs Edge Out Narrow Win in Low-Scoring Clash
It may not be the most exciting prediction, but I'm expecting the defenses to put on a clinic on Sunday. The Chiefs scored their season high of 37 points last week against a depleted Ravens defense, but had otherwise not scored more than 22 points in a game all year. They'll have a more difficult time taking shots down field against Jacksonville, who have the NFL's second highest coverage grade, per PFF.
Defense will be the name of this game, for both teams. It'll be hard to move the ball through the air in a battle between the NFL's best passing defenses. As such, I'm predicting both teams to score fewer than three touchdowns, and the final score to be below 40 total points. Those, however, are games that the Chiefs have been tremendously successful in. Kansas City was 11-0 during the 2024 regular season in one-score games, and I'm expecting them to pick up a similar type of victory on Monday night.
Final score prediction: Chiefs 20, Jaguars 17
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Bold Predictions for Chiefs-Jaguars on 'Monday Night Football' in Week 5.
