After a statement 26-21 victory over the San Francisco 49ers last week, the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars looked to make another statement win on a national stage against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Kansas City started the season slow but had won back-to-back games heading into their matchup with Jacksonville. The Chiefs have been the standard in the league for the last decade or so, and an up-and-coming Jaguars team viewed this game as a litmus test to see where they stood.

Jacksonville started slow with two three-and-outs on its opening drives. The Chiefs moved the ball well in the first quarter and despite punting on their first possession. On drive two for the Chiefs it was vintage Mahomes. 

Several big plays, including a 32-yard connection with Tyquan Thornton, set the Chiefs up in great position for an eventual 2-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Travis Kelce. 

Jacksonville answered with an impressive possession of its own. Trevor Lawrence connected with both Brenton Strange and Brian Thomas Jr. for 22-yard completions, but the drive ended with a Lawrence fumble on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak.

Nick Bolton made a great play on the ball, punching it out of Lawrence’s hands just inches from the goal line, a potential game-tying touchdown wiped away.

The Chiefs wasted no time on their next drive as Kareem Hunt opened with a 33-yard run to get the Chiefs out from its own end zone. Later in the series, Thornton reeled in a 34-yard completion from Mahomes ,which set up a 9-yard Mahomes touchdown run.

Down 14-0, the Jaguars backs were against the wall, and they answered the call. Several Lawrence scrambles and a 12-yard completion to rookie Travis Hunter helped move the Jaguars down the field before Parker Washington hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence.

At halftime, the Jaguars were down 14-7 with both Lawrence and Mahomes playing high-level football. The defenses were on their heels the whole half, aside from Chiefs’ goal-line stand.

A quick three-and-out for the Chiefs top open the second half gave Jacksonville the ball with a chance to erase the 14-0 deficit completely. Lawrence connected with Hunter on a 44-yard deep ball, where the rookie won a jump ball. Later in the drive, Lawrence ran in for a 10-yard touchdown, his first of two rushing touchdowns on the day.

With the game now tied at 14, the Chiefs mounted a methodical five-minute drive. On second- and-three from inside the 5-yard line, Mahomes threw to what appeared to be a wide-open Juju Smith-Schuster, but league leader in interceptions Devin Lloyd jumped in front of the pass and returned it 99 yards for a pick-six, giving the Jaguars their first lead of the night. 

The Jacksonville defense forced another stop, giving the ball back to Lawrence with a chance to put the game away. On second-and-7, Lawrence threw toward Parker Washington , but Trent McDuffie intercepted the pass. There was controversy, as replays showed apparent contact that could have been called pass interference, preventing Washington’s ability to make a play on the ball.

Nevertheless, Mahomes and company got the ball in the red zone and waste no time tying the game. The first play of the drive Mahomes connected with Kelce for a 14-yard gain, followed by a 5-yard touchdown run from Hunt to tie the game at 21.

Jacksonville responded, as Cam Little drilled a 52-yard field goal to put the Jaguars ahead 24-21. The Chiefs then put together a clock-chewing drive, marching down the field and taking nearly seven minutes off the clock before Hunt scored his second touchdown of the day, a 2-yard run, to lead 28-24.

Lawrence and the Jaguars got the ball back with just under two minutes remaining. The drive was saved on a third-and-long conversion where Lawrence connected with Brian Thomas Jr. for a 33-yard completion to set the team up in great scoring position. 

The following play, Dyami Brown caught a 13-yard pass that put the Jaguars in the red zone with 45 seconds remaining. After an interception in the end zone was overturned due to a pass interference, the Jaguars had the ball at the one yard line with 30 seconds remaining.

Lawrence took a snap but was stepped on by his right guard and tripped and fell. He got up, fell again, got back up and than shed a tackle to get outside and ultimately score the game-winning touchdown.

When asked about what was going through his head after he fell, Lawrence simply said, “sheer panic”. The Jaguars ultimately won the game to move to 4-1 and are once again tied with the Indianapolis Colts for first place in the division.

The Jaguars will take on the Seattle Seahawks next week before traveling to London to play the Los Angeles Rams ahead of its bye week. For Jacksonville, their 4-1 start marks the first time the team has done that since 2007, a year they went 11-5 and wen tot the divisional round of the playoffs.

For the Chiefs, their early season struggles continued as they are now just 2-3 through their first five games. They will host the 4-1 Detroit Lions next week as they look to get back on track to their winning ways.