The Kansas City Chiefs came away with a Week 10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars despite losing the turnover battle 3-0. That’s a rarity, even for the best teams in the league. Even with the various miscues throughout the match, once K.C. took a lead, it felt like they never were at any serious risk of losing it. Perhaps that is the mark of a great team.
What else did we learn about the Chiefs in their Week 10 win? Here are four of our biggest takeaways after the game:
Kadarius Toney trade already paying dividends
The Kadarius Toney trade already looks like a smashing success for Kansas City. He led the Chiefs’ offense with 90 scrimmage yards and scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 10, which is just his second week with the team. He’s not just making plays on the manufactured touches either, he’s making acrobatic catches and creating yards after the catch with three broken tackles this week alone.
On top of everything on the football field, he’s saying and doing all of the right things off it. The coaching staff seems to trust him already and in a short time, he’s already earned the trust of his quarterback too. It couldn’t come at a better time given the injuries to Mecole Hardman and most recently JuJu Smith-Schuster, as Toney might be needed in the coming weeks.
Isiah Pacheco appears to be RB1 moving forward
Pacheco made his third consecutive start in Week 10, but the day started off with a fizzle for the rookie. He recorded his first career fumble on his second carry of the day, turning the ball over to the Jaguars in the red zone. There was some chatter that perhaps they would go away from the rookie afterward, but when the Chiefs got the ball back they went right back to him, again and again, and again.
Before you knew it, the clock struck zero in the fourth quarter and Pacheco had recorded 16 carries for 82 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry on the day. Clyde Edwards-Helaire didn’t get a single carry and Jerick McKinnon saw just one carry for two yards. Andy Reid said after the game that it wasn’t by design, but they’ve made a concerted effort to get Pacheco more involved lately. It feels like when they’re intent on grinding things out in the running game, he’s going to be the guy for the team moving forward.
Sacks are starting to come for the Chiefs
Early on in the season, it felt like the Chiefs couldn’t buy a sack at times. The defensive line was getting pressure, but they were hardly finishing the job. Over the past two weeks of play, the defense has come up with a grand total of eight sacks, including five in Week 10 against the Jaguars.
Why is it so notable that the Chiefs managed five sacks against the Jags? Well, their offensive line had surrendered the second-fewest sacks in the NFL through Week 9, allowing just 12 on the season. Even more impressive is the fact that three of the sacks for Kansas City came on four-man rushes, while just two came while blitzing.
However you dice it, this group is making progress.
Trent McDuffie continues to impress
McDuffie had a performance that brought him back down to earth. He finally allowed his first reception and a few more, surrendering a total of six catches for 59 yards on eight targets per PFF. He did surrender a long pass of 33 yards, but for the most part, he and the rest of the secondary limited Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars to just a handful of explosive passing plays. The first-rounder also finished third on the team in total tackles (7) with a tackle for loss and two pass breakups on the night.
It’s important to remember that he’s still getting his bearings. While guys like Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams have had their opportunities to play, this was just his second full game this season. He’s going to just continue getting better as he gets more and more opportunities. Week 11 should prove to be an interesting challenge should the Chargers get Keenan Allen and Mike Williams back.
