ClutchPoints
The Kansas City Chiefs are trending up after two consecutive wins to rebound from a stunning 0-2 start, and another stern AFC test awaits them in Week 5. One week after demolishing the Baltimore Ravens 37-20 at home, the Chiefs will head on the road to take on the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football.
The Jaguars may not come to mind as a contender in the AFC right off the bat, but they are playing some good football on both sides of the ball and are off to a hot start, currently sharing first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts. If they can keep that up, it will be very difficult for the Chiefs to beat them.
Crucially, the Chiefs got speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy back in Week 4, and the impact that he had on the offense was clear. Not only did he finish with 121 scrimmage yards on just seven touches, but the threat of him beating the Ravens over the top opened up space for Mahomes to operate and find the other pass catchers in the short and intermediate areas of the field.
Worthy will certainly be a big part of the Kansas City offense against the Jaguars, but he won’t be the one that decides whether Andy Reid and company will come out victorious. Instead, Kansas City tackles Josh Simmons and Jawaan Taylor are the biggest X-factors for the Chiefs coming into this game.
The Chiefs have struggled a bit on the offensive line in recent years, specifically at the tackle spot. Jawaan Taylor has had his issues at right tackle during his time in Kansas City, both with penalties and with actually blocking, and the Chiefs addressed the left tackle spot by taking Josh Simmons out of Ohio State in the first round of the NFL Draft last spring.
So far this season, the Chiefs have done a great job of keeping Patrick Mahomes clean and allowing him to operate without being under constant pressure, even while playing some very good defensive fronts. This year, Mahomes has the fourth-lowest pressure rate (26.3%) among 33 qualified quarterbacks and has the second-lowest time to throw (2.53 seconds), behind just Aaron Rodgers.
This week, the tackles will be under the gun once again. Jaguars edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen has quietly been one of the best edge rushers in football this season despite registering just a half-sack on the season. However, the underlying numbers suggest that a breakout in the mainstream stats could be coming.
Hines-Allen has 21 pressures this season, trailing just three defenders at 22 through four weeks. He is getting pressure on 16.5% of his pass-rush snaps, a top 10 mark among all defensive linemen so far this season. Next Gen Stats has credited him with 11 quick pressures this season, which is tied for the league lead with Myles Garrett and Will Anderson Jr.
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