The Jacksonville Jaguars have a tall task Sunday if they hope to make it back-to-back wins.
To follow up a Week 9 win against the Las Vegas Raiders with another victory, the Jaguars will have to take down the perennial AFC powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs. For four straight years, the Chiefs have reached the AFC Championship and in two of those years, the team earned a trip to the Super Bowl.
Unsurprisingly, the 6-2 Chiefs are large favorites against the 3-6 Jaguars in Week 10.
If the Jaguars hope to spring the upset, these five players will have to step up in a big way Sunday:
S Rayshawn Jenkins or S Dewey Wingard
The only injured Jaguars player heading into Sunday is Jenkins, who is listed as questionable for the matchup after he was placed in the concussion protocol earlier this week.
Whether it’s Jenkins playing against the Chiefs or his backup, Wingard, the back end of the Jaguars secondary is going to be tested by Patrick Mahomes and the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense.
It’ll primarily be on the linebacker corps and the Jaguars’ duo of safeties to keep Travis Kelce, who has seven touchdown receptions in eight games, in check.
Kelce catching passes and racking up a good chunk of yardage is somewhat inevitable, but he’ll quickly take over a game if Jenkins or Wingard aren’t limiting the damage.
C Luke Fortner
The Jaguars need to stay on the field Sunday. They can’t afford three-and-outs that put strain on the defense and give the Chiefs offense extra opportunities to put points on the board.
To avoid quick punts, Jacksonville can’t have negative plays, whether that’s via sacks, rushes for a loss, or penalties. And the Chiefs player most capable of causing those issues is defensive tackle Chris Jones, who leads the team in sacks with 5.5.
Stopping Jones won’t be all on Fortner with Tyler Shatley to his left and Brandon Scherff to his right. But the rookie needs to keep up the solid start to his career and not get run over by one of the NFL’s best interior linemen.
RB Travis Etienne
After a more pass-heavy approach earlier in the year, the Jaguars have leaned on Etienne in recent weeks. That was especially true in the last two games, with Etienne carrying 52 times — more than his first five games combined — for 274 rushing yards.
Doug Pederson knows that kind of workload might not be the best idea for Etienne on a weekly basis, but establishing the run against the Chiefs is a must.
After giving up 65.8 rushing yards per game in the first four weeks, Kansas City gave up 138.3 in its last four games. A Tennessee Titans offense that was telegraphing its runs due to a nonexistent pass game still managed 172 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
Etienne brings a much different style than Derrick Henry, but the Jaguars will need their back to extend his 100-yard game streak to six.
OLB Josh Allen
The Jaguars defense simply can’t have Allen’s disappearing act continue through the remainder of the season.
Allen is the team’s most polished pass rusher, yet he hasn’t recorded a sack since Week 4. Last week against the Raiders, he hardly even laid a hand on Derek Carr.
Only five teams — including the Jaguars — have allowed fewer sacks than the Chiefs offensive line. Mahomes is an elusive quarterback who can extend plays and make magic happen.
Allen needs to make some plays and help the Jaguars defense get off the field and possibly force a turnover or two.
WR Christian Kirk
It’s going to take more than Etienne for the Jaguars to move the chains with consistency against the Chiefs.
While Kansas City’s rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie has looked like a really good first-round pick and could limit the Jaguars’ opportunities on the outside, Kirk may be the receiver who finds the most chances by exploiting the middle of the field.
Kirk had one of his best games with the Jaguars last week when he had a season-high eight receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. The Jaguars could really use another game like that against the Chiefs.
