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The Best Matchup of Week Five: JAX vs. KC


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Kansas City Chiefs 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 14

1. Any hopes of a Jaguars comeback were dashed at the end of the first half. After safety Tashaun Gipson became the first player to pick off Patrick Mahomes this season, Blake Bortles experienced the nightmare sequence of a lost fumble, a pick-six on a screen pass to defensive end Chris Jones and another interception that bounced off the back of his own offensive lineman's helmet and into cornerback Steven Nelson's hands in the end zone. Under pressure from edge rusher Dee Ford, he unfurled a third interception at the goal line early in the fourth quarter and added yet another in the end zone as time expired in the final frame. One of the byproducts of Bortles' sloth-like elongated throwing motion is an exceptionally high number of passes deflected at the line of scrimmage, which has contributed to his NFL-high 71 interceptions and 13 pick-sixes since entering the league in 2014. He's had much worse throwing exhibitions this year, but the five turnovers were a killer on the road.
 
2. Myles Jack's inability to contain Travis Kelce is emblematic of the stiff challenge defenses face against Andy Reid's scheming and Patrick Mahomes' arm talent. Jack is the best coverage linebacker on one of the NFL's premier defenses, but it's asking a lot to stay disciplined enough not to bite on Tyreek Hill's pre-snap motion, run step-for-step with an All Pro tight end and make a play at the catch point when Mahomes delivers a perfect strike. Through four games this season, all tight ends combined had managed just 135 yards on 14 receptions against Jacksonville. Kelce had five catches for 100 yards by the start of the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Chiefs are so creative and deploy so many different weapons that defenses are forced to pick their poison each week.
 
3. Although opportunistic with the five takeaways, Kansas City's overly generous defense was far from a shutdown unit, surrendering a career-high 430 passing yards to Bortles. It didn't help matters that Bob Sutton's three most important players failed to finish the game. Jones was ejected for throwing a cheap shot, Ford was booted for a pair of personal fouls and outside linebacker Justin Houston was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Prior to his exit, Ford continued his impressive contract-year campaign, tallying three QB hits, a pass deflection and a forced fumble. He's going to get paid next offseason if he can avoid the injury bug.
 
-- Chris Wesseling
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