Chiefs 2022 Opponent Overview: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Kansas City Chiefs go from facing one AFC South team, to preparing for another AFC South team in Week 10. A younger Jacksonville Jaguars squad comes to town after coming back to beat another AFC West team last week, the Las Vegas Raiders. Kansas City is looking to find some consistency before some intriguing matchups against other AFC contenders late this season. Whereas with the Jaguars, Jacksonville is looking to just find some footing before the season becomes too far gone.

More on some of the key matchups and game planning will be covered right here throughout this week. Today, we will be giving our own view of the Jacksonville Jaguars entering their matchup with the Chiefs. What can Kansas City expect from their offense and defense? Let’s kick it off.

Growing Pains

It has been a challenging year and a half for Trevor Lawrence, to say the least. Obviously, not many young quarterbacks step in and dominate out of the gate. There was also a ludicrous decision to make Urban Meyer the head coach for Lawrence’s rookie season last year. Now with more talented weapons around him and renowned teacher of quarterbacks in head coach Doug Pederson, the mistakes are still in the forefront for Jacksonville’s passer.

October brought about many glaring areas in which Lawrence is struggling at right now. For starters, the inability to read the field is evident at all times. Lawrence simply stares down his receivers and does not recognize coverages. Elsewhere, Lawrence has been hindered when it comes to creating in the pocket, extending plays and anticipate what defenses are looking to do against Jaguars wide receivers.

Can Trevor Lawrence gain confidence in the near future? Oftentimes, getting back to the fundamentals and cleaning those up pays dividends. The Jaguars have been hurt by Lawrence’s failure to set a firm throwing base. Essentially, this quarterback has been extremely toesy in the pocket, getting too far on the front of his feet lately. Other items like squaring up his shoulders and getting his hips through would benefit Lawrence and the Jaguars offense tremendously.

Run Travis Run

After missing all of his rookie season due to injury, Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne is on a tear in 2022. He is continuing to keep opposing defenses honest with his well-rounded skill set. The Clemson product already has 680 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in nine games this season. On top of that, Etienne has produced 5.7 yards per carry, an elite number. Keep in mind, James Robinson was also involved in the Jaguars running back rotation to start the season, taking some touches away from Etienne. Robinson was recently traded, and it has further increased Etienne’s hot stretch.

He is no slouch in the receiving game, either. Etienne has accumulated 174 receiving yards on 19 catches this season, good for 9.2 yards per reception. His last three games are as follows when it comes to rushing yards: 109, 156, 114. Finally, Etienne has four rushing scores in that three-game span.

Overall, Etienne’s running style is so unique. He truly sinks his hips low to the ground. On the flip side, the Jaguars rusher remains low to the ground, while offering extremely wide and long strides. This is a boost to him, given the speed and dense lower half of Etienne. Jacksonville has so many options for which to attack defenses, with this particular player. Simply put, Etienne can win by slicing in between tackles, or by outracing defenders on the outside edges.

Multiplicity

From the defensive front to the secondary, the Jacksonville Jaguars are quite multiple with their defensive scheme. You will see them alter between a three-man defensive front to a four-man defensive front. Upfront, this Jaguars pass rush offers much more speed than what most people likely expect. Names like Josh Allen, Folorunso Fatukasi and Roy Robertson-Harris just cover plenty of ground instantly. When Jacksonville blitzes, all of their blitzers work to crash inside from outer edger or angles. Yet, the physicality and length that the Jaguars have at defensive tackle with DaVon Hamilton and Corey Peters quickly muddies up the line of scrimmage.

In the secondary, the Jaguars will usually work to get in the wide receivers’ face with press man coverage. Safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and Andre Cisco will generally look to rotate into shallow areas, seams and into the middle of the field. Rather than looking to get depth, this duo is not afraid to stick their face in the fan against top passing attacks.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.