Game Thread: Week 1 Chiefs @ Jaguars

[Fountain City Blues]

Hurricane shenanigans aside, this should be interesting. Might be the most difficult game for the Chiefs until late October when they play the Packers.

 

[Clayton]

I don't think this game will be as easy as it was last year. Bortles had 4 Ints. Foles takes risks but as a whole really only averages about an Int a game.

Chiefs were also full strength on offense last year with Hunt, Watkins, Kelce and Hill.

A big dynamic in the game will be if Kelce goes off again. He had 100 yards against the Jags last year and you'd have to think that Kelce is going to be seen as the 'man' on both sides. If the Jags roll out the same thing they did last year then its going to be Kelce all day, I'd imagine.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Jags went all-out to stop the pass. Damien Williams is going to be important to keep that pass rush honest. Get him to the edge and let him run.

A sloppy game might favor the Jags. Hopefully the field stays clean. I'm guessing this is a 24-20 type of game.

 

[Black Adam]

Well, good news today at least. Cheetah re-upped...

 

[Clayton]

Jags D is mad AF

Not sure this game can get any chippier on that end

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Kinda thinking Hill is gonna be out for a while looking at how he landed.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Ward looks completely lost in zone. He has been responsible for a couple busts in coverage it looks like. And I do mean coverage busts. Fixable, but it also might have to be fixable via Morris Claiborne or trade. Nothing we didn't know, but it's gonna be an issue until that spot is addressed or improved.

 

[Clayton]

Lots to evaluate in that game.

Offense: A-

Watkins went off all day. Kelce still beat Jack. Ramsey knocked out Hill. Mahomes missed a TD throw but otherwise was close to perfect. McCoy looked better than I expected. Mahomes did take too many hits which is why this isn't an A+ but as decent as the Chiefs oline was, the Jags dline is probably top tier.

Defense: C

Ward and Fuller both got beat on huge plays. The run D was hard to judge because the Jags eventually gave up. The Chiefs did force a big turnover and did force a lot of holding penalties but they also made a backup QB look decent and the trio of Chark, Conley and Westbrook look good. Okafor missed a fairly easy pick 6.

Jags QBs: 27/33 3 Tds, 1 Int.
Jags RBs: 16 carries, 81 Yds.

Not good.

Chiefs won because of the penalties and turnovers. Massive gap in discipline between the two teams although I suspect that the Foles injury probably should've been a (fairly irrelevant) flag.

Special Teams: A-

Field Goals made, no real splash in the kick return game, though

 

[Fountain City Blues]

 

[Clayton]

That looks about right.

Hitchens and Honey Badgers grades dont surprise me based on what I saw. Hitchens in particular just doesn't really seem like a starter.

Chiefs oline deserves a good amount of credit because the Jags pass rush was legit and their secondary in theory is supposed to be elite.

Watkins should've had the highest grade of any player in the NFL based on how he played in week 1. Destroyed any and all competition.

Kelce only getting 3 of 8 targets and the Chiefs scoring 40 is a good sign for the season.

Sherman got the highest FB grade in football but there really aren't any excuses for him not scoring a TD on that dump off pass.

 

[Gatorchip]

I didn't see any of the game, but the stats indicated the Chiefs were unable to establish much of a run game. I see McCoy had two good runs, but Damien Williams went nowhere.

Concerns here?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I didn't see any of the game, but the stats indicated the Chiefs were unable to establish much of a run game. I see McCoy had two good runs, but Damien Williams went nowhere.

Concerns here?

I don't think I have any major issues with the RB's. They hit the holes they could hit. Could power their way on 3rd and short (or 4th and short) when desired.

The OTs had some good blocks on the larger runs, IIRC. Interior had some rough moments, albeit against a pretty damn good Jags defense. Will be interesting to see how they do with what should be an easier assignment against the Raiders.

Run game is probably fine in the big picture, but the interior OL is a questionmark in the running game.

 

[Clayton]

I didn't see any of the game, but the stats indicated the Chiefs were unable to establish much of a run game. I see McCoy had two good runs, but Damien Williams went nowhere.

Concerns here?

Chiefs obviously saw some things in coverage that they liked and just kept attacking. There was a call on CBS where the announcer says fairly emphatically 'Kansas City is relentless' and that pretty much sums up the mindset they had.

I personally think that McCoy looked great and I've seen Williams look good enough to generally be more encouraged than I was going into the season.

I think a big factor in the optimism is that McCoy won't be facing stacked boxes like he was in Buffalo. Sure, he has lost a step but if the Chiefs blocking is at least halfway competent then McCoy will be able to make at least one player miss and thats enough to get the job done.