How one of Chiefs’ greatest assets failed them on Monday night in Jacksonville
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs defense forced early turnover but offense converted it into lead.
- Subsequent penalties, dropped interceptions and coverage errors returned momentum.
- Close loss exposes defensive lapses and special teams risk against top rivals.
Early in the second quarter on Monday night at EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence did precisely what the Chiefs anticipated he’d do on fourth and goal at the 1. The 6-foot-6 quarterback tried to go up and over the defensive line, and linebacker Nick Bolton was there with just the right greeting.
“I just kind of met him at the top and … put my hand through the ball,” Bolton said late Monday night.
The ball was only a mere inch or so from breaking the plane for a touchdown. But the stop was the sort of feverishly contested turf and pivotal moment in which this Chiefs defense has become known to bristle over these last two-plus seasons among the top five in the NFL.
In that span, it’s been the safeguard and in some ways even the springboard for the team animated by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
And so it appeared again on Monday, when the fumble caused by Bolton was recovered by George Karlaftis and briskly converted into a six-play, 97-yard touchdown drive on a 9-yard touchdown run by Mahomes.
All of a sudden it was 14-0 Chiefs, and they appeared well on their way to a mojo-restoring third straight win.
“Juices are flowing,” defensive lineman Chris Jones said.
Most other nights in recent Chiefs history, that play would have been the defining twist of the game.
Instead, it proved a sort of fool’s gold, epitomizing a game that abruptly swung the pendulum of perception back the other way ... just when you might have thought the Chiefs were finding themselves after their sluggish 0-2 start.
Rather than that moment embodying the game, and the defense in particular, it all disintegrated with a jaw-dropping set of blunders that bordered on slapstick.
The result was a disconcerting 31-28 loss that relegated the Chiefs to 2-3 and leaves us to question anew just who and what this team is.
On the very next series, Jacksonville marched down the field enabled by a third-and-15 pass-interference penalty on Jaylen Watson, Lawrence’s two longest runs of the season (16 and 14 yards) and his pass attempt for Tim Patrick that went off the hands of three Chiefs defenders.
“I definitely kind of gave them life a little bit when I dropped that interception,” said Bolton, who lost the handle colliding with Drue Tranquill after Trent McDuffie deflected it from Patrick’s tip.
Next thing you know it’s 14-7 as the Jaguars were on their way to taking a 21-14 lead.
But what mattered most, what will stick with the Chiefs the most, was how it all was squandered in the end.
Because they’d scratched their way back to take a 28-24 lead with 1 minute, 45 seconds left.
And it’s been in the late-game crucible that they’d shown their heavy mettle through this dynastic era — but especially over the last couple seasons:
Entering 2025, the Chiefs had won an NFL-record 17 straight one-score games. Mahomes Magic and coming through in the clutch always has been part of that, but the defense has been essential.
This scenario was how they’ve separated themselves.
This time, though, the Chiefs were dissected down the stretch even as they had plays in their grasp.
Like on a 33-yard pass to Brian Thomas Jr. with Watson covering that Chiefs coach Andy Reid pointed to as indicative of “a game of inches.” And a would-be interception by Bryan Cook negated by Chamarri Conner’s pass interference to give the Jaguars first and goal at the 1-yard line with 30 seconds left.
And then the follies of the ensuing play, which supplanted the earlier stand at the very same spot on the field as the most indelible and revealing snapshot of the game.
As Lawrence stepped back from center, right guard Patrick Mekari stepped on his foot. He fell and bounced. Twice. The original play was blown, Lawrence said in his postgame news conference, and here’s what he was thinking after that with no timeouts left.
“Just panic, honestly …” he said, smiling and adding, “I was just hoping, like, no one was near me when I got up at that point. Because I needed a second to get up and just throw the ball away. …
“I ended up tripping again. I’m sure it looks pretty funny on the tape.”
Just not funny ha-ha for the Chiefs or the Chiefs’ fans.
Because no one was near enough to touch him down, and the broken play seemed to disjoint the Chiefs more than the Jags as Lawrence recovered and ran it in.
“I thought multiple times we had him …” said Jones, perhaps explaining why he can be seen standing in the middle of the field instead of in pursuit as the play extends. “I put it on us as a defense. We’ve got to finish. We’ve got to bring him down on that.”
Instead, the Chiefs took themselves down.
With a 99-yard pick-six thrown by Mahomes, and a stunning 13 penalties for 109 yards. And special teams gaffes right and left.
But most of all by way of what had been the most dependable part of their game.
One night doesn’t mean it’s all coming apart, of course.
But with high-octane teams like Detroit and Buffalo awaiting in the next few weeks, the Chiefs’ defense suddenly has something to prove if the team is going to be able to reset overall.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.