Will Chiefs face tougher test vs. Jaguars than they did vs. Titans? Spagnuolo thinks so

The 6-2 Chiefs play host to a second straight AFC South opponent when the 3-6 Jacksonville Jaguars take the field Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

The two organizations have met 13 previous times, with the Chiefs holding a 7-6 edge in the all-time series.

Kansas City has won five straight games over Jacksonville dating to 2010, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 2-0 in his career against Jacksonville. The teams’ five most recent matchups haven’t been closely contested: The Chiefs have outscored the Jaguars by a wide margin, 159-76.

Will the Chiefs keep rolling over this opponent and improve to 7-2? Here are their keys to the game:

CONTAIN THE HOT HAND

When looking at the Jaguars’ offense, the top priority is easy: running back Travis Etienne.

The Jaguars’ second of two first-round picks — quarterback Trevor Lawrence being the other one — in the 2021 NFL Draft has been on a roll, rushing for 379 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games.

And Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knows Etienne in the Jaguars’ offensive system, which was installed by Jacksonville’s first-year coach, Doug Pederson, can be a problem.

“They’re rolling,” Spagnuolo said. “You put the tape on and in a lot of the games, early in the game, they’re running right down the field. They did it against the Giants, they did it against other people, and they’re putting points on the board.

“There’s a lot of talent there. In a lot of ways, this will be a tougher test than last Sunday was.”

The previous game saw the Chiefs come back from a nine-point deficit against the Tennessee Titans before securing a 20-17 win in overtime. In that contest, the Chiefs more than held their own against Titans star running back Derrick Henry.

Kansas City’s defense will need a repeat performance in a classic battle of strength vs. strength.

Led by Etienne, the Jaguars’ running game enters the weekend ranked seventh in the league, averaging 146.8 yards per game.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, rank fifth against the run, allowing 102 yards per game.

DON’T OVERLOOK OPPONENT

Despite the Jaguars’ current record, the Chiefs aren’t taking the lightly before Week 11’s showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rightfully so.

Under Pederson, whom the Chiefs know well, the Jaguars have been competitive with all six of the team’s losses having been one-score affairs. The Jaguars also showed the ability to come from behind, erasing a 17-0 deficit against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9 before securing a 27-20 win.

“If you look at the tape, the players that they have out there are really legit players,” Mahomes said. “They’re young, but they’re fast, they’re physical, they’re big, they fly around to the ball, play with confidence. So, we have a ton of respect for this team coming in and if you see them — even the games they’ve lost, they’ve been in them.”

As Mahomes points out, the Jaguars have talent on both sides of the football and shouldn’t be viewed as a one-trick show with Etienne.

Lawrence is learning under Pederson, and the quarterback has a solid receiver in Christian Kirk, who has 43 catches for 574 yards and five touchdowns this season. Tight end Evan Engram, who has 338 yards receiving and a touchdown, can also pose problems.

LET IT FLY

With Mahomes under center, the Chiefs enter the weekend with the No. 1 passing attack, averaging a healthy 311.8 yards passing per contest, and No. 1 scoring offense (30.4 points per game).

The Jaguars have been stingy this season, ranking 11th in points allowed (19.8), but their 22nd-ranked pass defense is suspect, allowing 238.3 yards per game.

And Jacksonville’s cornerbacks have yet to face an offense like the Chiefs in 2022.

Mahomes, who comes off a game where he attempted an incredible 68 passes, should go after the Jaguars’ defensive backs. Doing so projects in favor of tight end Travis Kelce, who has 24 catches for 312 yards over the past three games, and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

AVOID HEAD-SCRATCHING PLAYS

While the Chiefs racked up 499 yards of total offense in Week 9 and held an eye-popping 41:28-26:23 edge in time of possession, they still needed overtime to beat the Titans. Kansas City was also penalized 10 times in that game.

In Week 3, the Chiefs converted a dismal 3 of 10 on third-down attempts and had two turnovers in a 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

While the Chiefs lead the league in points per game, they’ve failed to top 21 three times: in Week 3 vs. Colts, Week 6 vs. Bills and Week 9 vs. Titans.

OK, so what’s the point here? Remove the Bills from the equation, and the Titans and Colts come from the same division as the Jaguars. Teams in the AFC South appear to be built in similar fashion: a star running back and a gritty defense.

Kansas City had multiple issues against the Colts and Titans in games that shouldn’t have been close. The Chiefs must be laser-focused against an improved Jacksonville team to avoid a slow start and potential letdown.