On Sunday the 6-2 Kansas City Chiefs will host the 3-6 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs are coming off a tough and thrilling overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans. Kansas City now trails only the Buffalo Bills via tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
As for the Jaguars, they broke a five-game losing streak last week by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders. The Jags were a trendy offseason pick to make a big improvement from last season but are still trying to find their identity. Let’s see how these two teams match up against each other and what it will take for the Chiefs to come out on top.
Head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor run the Jacksonville offense, with Pederson calling the plays. Naturally, Pederson runs a similar version of Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s west coast offense after having coached under him for seven seasons.
Much like the Chiefs, the Jags’ offense is about timing routes, sending guys in motion, screens, RPOs, zone-running, frequent substitutions and timely deep shots downfield. Pederson’s new system has already paid big dividends for the Jags’ offense as it is currently the eighth overall-ranked unit in the NFL after finishing 27th last season.
After a rookie season that was pretty much a wash, quarterback Trevor Lawrence is still developing in Pederson’s system and experiencing highs and lows. He is a big, athletic player who displays flashes of brilliance at times, but sometimes struggles with accuracy and decision-making.
