Defense comes through in Chiefs’ 30-14 win against Jags, keeps KC undefeated
It was as if the thick cloud cover and rain blanketing Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday afternoon was waiting for the most poetic time to part.
Moments after cornerback Steven Nelson celebrated his first career interception with a tip drill and a simulated windmill dunk in the end zone, the sun broke through, shining on the field as the Chiefs ran to the locker room with a 20-point lead.
It’s not just that the Chiefs shut out the Jaguars (3-2) in the first half of the 30-14 win, it’s how they did it — and how they finished the game. Sharing a field with the best defense in the league, Chiefs own defensive unit looked elite with a slew of replacements as they put together the best four quarters of football they’ve played all season.
“We kind of embraced the underdog role this week,” corner Orlando Scandrick said. “Talk about their defense, No. 1 defense vs. No. 1 offense. We’re kind of the forgotten piece of the puzzle. For me personally, I didn’t feel the respect, so I thought it was going to be great for us to go out and earn it in front of our home fans.”
In the first half alone, the Chiefs’ defense produced an interception, a strip sack and fumble recovery, a pick-six and a fourth down stop at the goal line. By the end of the game, the defense accounted for five sacks, 12 quarterback hits and five turnovers — including three red zone interceptions.
The touchdown, courtesy of defensive end Chris Jones’ second career interception, was the Chiefs’ first defensive score of the season.
Jones swallowed a Blake Bortles pass in the second quarter and ran it in from 20 yards out for his first career score.
“It’s all about preparation,” Jones said. “I prepared for the moment and the moment came. Picked it off and made a little juke-y juke and went into the end zone.”
The defensive unit, so maligned through the first quarter of the NFL season, seemed to channel all of its frustration into shutting down the Jaguars’ offense. At times, the Chiefs were a little too emotional, picking up two unsportsmanlike-conduct flags, one roughing-the-passer penalty, one taunting penalty and one ejection for a non-football play.
Both Chris Jones and Dee Ford were ejected — Jones for punching a Jacksonville player while he was down on the ground during a point after try and Ford for taunting and an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
“We’re physical,” Scandrick said. “I don’t think they’re physical. I think they want to pretend they’re physical when everything is going good. But I think we’re a really physical team. I think we played a physical style of defense.”
Bortles finished with 430 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions on a 33-of-60 effort, though a good chunk of those yards came with the Jags down two scores in the fourth quarter. Bortles’ outing had a fitting ending as Scandrick picked him off in the end zone with four seconds left. Meanwhile, running back TJ Yeldon had just 53 yards on 10 carries along with eight catches for 69 yards.
The Chiefs (5-0) did all of that without a full complement of defensive players. By the end of the game, the Chiefs were down five major defensive players — in addition to safeties Eric Berry and Daniel Sorensen, who haven’t played a game this season.
The offense wasn’t spared either, as lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a broken fibula late in the fourth quarter when the full weight of DT Marcell Dareus came down on his left leg.
Safety Eric Murray, who’s been playing in place of Berry, was the first player to go down, exiting the game with a sprained ankle in the first quarter. That brought on rookie Armani Watts, whose coverage of Austin Seferian-Jenkins prevented the Jags from scoring on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter.
But Watts came out later in the second quarter after appearing to re-aggravate a groin injury, giving safety Jordan Lucas an opportunity to take his first defensive snaps of the season.
“All the way down, you’ve got to have guys that can play,” corner Kendall Fuller said. “When the opportunity presents itself, guys got to step up. Armani came in there and made some plays for us. Jordan made some plays when Armani went down. We just keep that attitude, next man up and just keep on balling, and we’ll be good.”
Lucas, who joined the Chiefs after the preseason when he was traded from Miami, made the most of his shot. He nabbed his first career interception in the fourth quarter for Bortles’ third pick of the afternoon.
Like Nelson, he celebrated his interception — and the 49-yard return — wildly, and the Chiefs’ sideline nearly emptied as they rushed out to join the frenzy.
“We knew the matchups and I just made a play on the ball and when I caught it, I felt like a little kid again, just running around,” Lucas said. “My guys had some great blocks, great blocks for me.”
At outside linebacker, Justin Houston came off with a hamstring injury in the first half, bringing in rookie Breeland Speaks.
Speaks played a crucial role, diving on a ball freed by Ford’s strip sack for his first career fumble recovery. Ford, who had five tackles, a sack and three quarterback hits, didn’t finish the game either, coming off with 7:37 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He was ejected after picking up his second unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for trash talking Bortles as the quarterback lay on the Chiefs’ sideline after being chased out of bounds by four defenders.
“Our young guys, 57 (Breeland Speaks) and 92 (Tanoh Kpassagnon) did a great job of stepping up when counted on,” coach Andy Reid said.
The defensive performance Sunday afternoon bolstered a solid outing from the Chiefs’ offense and special teams, despite quarterback Patrick Mahomes (22-of-38, 313 yards) throwing his first two interceptions of the season. Kareem Hunt added 87 yards on 22 carries, while Travis Kelce had five receptions for his 15th 100-yard game, and wide receiver Sammy Watkins had 78 yards on six receptions.
“We knew we were going to have to go out there and perform,” Lucas said. “And the offense has been doing a great job. I don’t have to say that. You guys know that, the points that they put up. I think it was time for us. It was just time for us.”
In the days leading up to the game, linebacker Reggie Ragland said the key to fixing the Chiefs’ defense was simple: they just needed to be more “grown.”
Sunday afternoon, the Chiefs did a lot of growing up, and it kept them undefeated.
“We’ve got something special here,” Lucas said. “This is a team. Not only is it a team, but it’s a family. The crazy thing is we have a long way to go. A long way to go. We’re eager, we’re determined and we’ve got some great leaders on this team. So we’re going to put the work in.”
Brooke Pryor
Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
This story was originally published October 7, 2018 at 3:32 PM.