The Chiefs looked out of sync offensively for much of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, with several penalties and turnovers.
But Kansas City found a way to make enough plays for a 17-9 victory.
On a hot day in Jacksonville, the Chiefs had three first-half giveaways but still led 7-6 at halftime. Richie James muffed a punt, Justin Watson fumbled, and Patrick Mahomes threw an interception deep down the middle of the field. But the Jaguars only scored three points off those turnovers.
That allowed the Chiefs to take a 7-3 lead with Skyy Moore’s 9-yard touchdown reception with 27 seconds left in the first half.
The Jaguars did do well to respond, getting themselves into Brandon McManus’ range for a 49-yard field goal to make the score 7-6 at the half.
But after the break, the Chiefs went down the field for an 81-yard touchdown drive, getting into the end zone on a 9-yard pass from Mahomes to Travis Kelce.
The Jaguars got to nine points with a 22-yard field goal by McManus early in the fourth quarter. And while Jacksonville got down to Kansas City’s 14-yard line, Lawrence’s fourth-down pass to Calvin Ridley was incomplete when Ridley couldn’t get two feet in at the back of the end zone.
It was one of several near-touchdowns on the day for the Jaguars where receivers could not get two feet down.
The Chiefs didn’t give the ball back, salting the game away in large part due to a 54-yard pass from Mahomes to Moore that put the team in Jacksonville territory. Isiah Pacheco took a 5-yard run to the 1-yard line after the two-minute warning and with Jacksonville out of timeouts, Mahomes took a couple of knees to close out the victory on his 28th birthday.
Mahomes finished 29-of-41 for 305 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He completed passes to nine different receivers and threw to 12 on the day. Mahomes also had 30 rushing yards on seven attempts.
After missing the season opener with a knee injury, Kelce caught four passes for 26 yards with a TD.
Kansas City had just two designed runs to running backs in the first half, but Pacheco finished with 70 yards on 12 carries.
On the other side, Trevor Lawrence was 22-of-41 for 216 yards, adding 26 yards on the ground. Travis Etienne recorded just 40 yards on 12 carries.
Jacksonville finished 3-of-12 on third down, 0-of-2 on fourth down, and 0-of-3 in the red zone.
The Chiefs were penalized 12 times for 94 yards. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was called for two false starts, an illegal formation for lining up too deep in the backfield, and two holds. He was briefly replaced as an apparent coach’s decision but came back in on the next drive.
At 1-1, Kansas City will host the Bears in Week 3.
The 1-1 Jaguars will host the Texans next Sunday.
