Unsightly Chiefs win beats the alternative — as Jaguars know too well

This was the kind of unfulfilling day it was Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium: Before Chiefs coach Andy Reid so much as acknowledged victory over Jacksonville, he chastised tight end Travis Kelce and cornerback Marcus Peters for their antics.

Kelce’s tantrum included flinging a towel toward an official after not getting a pass interference call; Peters, somehow unbeknownst to the entire officiating crew, punted the football into the stands after recovering a fumble in the end zone.

“I didn’t appreciate the way (Kelce) handled that; it’s been addressed,” Reid said, adding, “Obviously, you can’t punt the ball into the stands.”

Coarse as their shenanigans were, at least they served as welcome entertainment during a tedious 19-14 win over the Jaguars that should sufficiently douse the furor for quarterback Nick Foles to usurp Alex Smith’s job even when Smith soon returns from injury.

Despite raw numbers that look decent, (20 of 33 for 187 yards), the eye-test revealed Foles was off-kilter much of a day in which the Chiefs managed just 10 first downs and amassed 49 yards on 16 carries by their running backs.

Jacksonville nearly doubled the Chiefs’ yardage output, 449-231, and surely the Jaguars would have won if not for four turnovers at pivotal spots on the field — including the fumble Peters recovered in the end zone that replays seemed to suggest was a touchdown.

But for all that, there was much to treasure in this seemingly uninspiring victory.

Just consider the context against Jacksonville.

Four years ago, the Chiefs and Jags were the two worst teams in the NFL, each going 2-14 and purging their general managers and coaches.

Including a 28-2 loss to the Chiefs in the 2013 season opener, the Jaguars are 14-42 since and 2-6 this season under coach Gus Bradley.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs of Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey started that season 9-0, are 37-19 overall under Reid and 6-2 this season.

Last season, they furnished the longest winning streak in team history, 11 games, including a 30-0 romp over Houston that marked the franchise’s first playoff win in 22 years.

Punter Dustin Colquitt, who along with linebacker Derrick Johnson is the longest-tenured Chief, still is conscious of all the flux and turmoil of previous regimes.

He considers the plight of Jacksonville, and he can see the ghosts of Chiefs past in a current Jaguars team that has lost three games by a total of 11 points.

“They’re, like, that close,” he said.

Which actually is to say … so close but so far, too.

“We’ve been in that situation before, where you look around like, ‘What else is going to happen to us?’ ” said Colquitt, in his 12th season. “That’s what Andy Reid and John Dorsey have done here:

“That mentality doesn’t exist any more. It got thrown out.”

So, unspectacular as this win was, it embodied that point.

And it encapsulated how far the Chiefs have come since being in the throes of dysfunction.

“When you have all those minds working alike, it’s fun to see, man,” Colquitt said. “Look at the depth we have: A guy goes out, they plug in a guy in, and it works.”

More or less, anyway.

With Kelce tossed and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin sidelined by a groin injury during the game, with Smith, starting running back Spencer Ware and starting guard Parker Ehinger sitting because of various injuries, the Chiefs spent much of Sunday down five offensive starters they began their last game with.

Throw in the demoralizing reality of running back Jamaal Charles now known to be lost for the season, and that’s a lot to make up for physically, mentally and emotionally.

As down as Jacksonville is, not many teams can win games missing that much key personnel this abruptly.

Yes, it sure was an inelegant triumph.

But this was a day of survive and advance and hold serve until regulars — perhaps including linebacker Justin Houston — return in the near future.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” offensive tackle Eric Fisher said, “but we found a way to win.”

Fisher, you may recall, was at the very foundation of the difference between the franchises since 2012.

When the Chiefs drew the overall No. 1 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by virtue of their strength of schedule difference with the Jaguars, they plucked Fisher over Luke Joeckel.

Naturally, many eyes were on both in that 2013 convergence of debuts.

Fisher generally held up well on a day the Chiefs averaged 4.3 yards a carry and allowed Smith to be sacked just once.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs sacked then-Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert six times. Three were delivered by Houston, who for the most part was lined up against Joeckel.

The oft-injured Joeckel has had many struggles since, including giving up eight sacks in 2014 and suffering a knee injury this season that has left him on injured reserve.

Fisher has had his own struggles, but for the better part of a year now his trajectory seems only upward as he begins to come into his own.

“I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs since that first game,” he said, smiling. “But I’ve come a long, long way.”

So have the Chiefs since then.

Now, of course we can nitpick about style points on Sunday.

And be concerned about what’s to come if injuries continue to beset them.

And wonder if budding stars Kelce and Peters are going to cost them a win if they don’t reel themselves in one of these days.

Even so, winning still beats losing — a notion easily amplified by the differences in the fortunes of the franchises since the Chiefs and Jaguars stared at the same crossroads after the 2012 season.

“You look over our four-year record,” Fisher said, “and I have to say we’ve got a good thing going.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Unsightly Chiefs win beats the alternative — as Jaguars know too well."