The Jacksonville Jaguars were the David trying to take out the Goliath that is the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
While the perennial AFC juggernaut won, as expected, it wasn’t a walk for the favorite. The Jaguars went down swinging against the Chiefs, keeping it relatively close throughout the game.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough in the 27-20 loss, but the long-term positives outweigh the negatives in Jacksonville. The team has a franchise quarterback leading the way for an ascending roster with promise.
Here are three players who stood out in a good way and two who didn’t in the team’s Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs:
Stud - Travis Etienne Jr.
It seems Jaguars coaches decided late in the season and into the postseason that they didn’t quite trust Travis Etienne as a pass blocker. That’s the only logical explanation for why Etienne was out of the game for significant stretches Saturday.
Because when Etienne was on the field and touched the ball, he made the most of his opportunities.
Etienne finished with 62 rushing yards on his 10 carries, including a four-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also caught three passes for 18 yards.
Heading into the 2023 season, the Jaguars need Etienne to improve as a blocker or they need to find new ways to use him to mask that weakness. Etienne is too explosive and dynamic to get just 13 touches and be on the field for only 43 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
Dud - Josh Allen
The Jaguars’ most dangerous pass rusher promised the Chiefs would “see a different Josh” in the rematch. They didn’t.
Like the Week 10 loss to the Chiefs, Allen recorded a couple pressures and a handful of tackles, but for the second time this year, the Jaguars couldn’t sack Patrick Mahomes once.
Obviously, that’s an issue for the Jaguars pass rush that goes beyond just Allen. The team’s other top rushers, Travon Walker and Arden Key, only recorded one hurry each on Saturday.
But Allen is the defensive team captain who made bold proclamations before the game and is nearing the end of his rookie contract. He had five sacks in the six games prior to Saturday and seemed primed to make an impact. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, that didn’t come to fruition.
Dud - Folorunso Fatukasi
The Jaguars got everything they could’ve hoped for out of just about every free agent they signed during the offseason with the exception of defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi.
The former Jets lineman missed time early in the year due to injury and was largely ineffective in the last few months. On Saturday against the Chiefs, his most notable impact was when he was called for an illegal hands to the face penalty.
Pro Football Focus gave Fatukasi an astonishingly awful 27.7 grade against Kansas City, easily the worst of any Jaguars player on the day.
Fatukasi will almost certainly be on Jacksonville’s roster again in 2023 as the team can’t really escape his $15.2 million cap hit. The Jaguars will be hoping for a bounce-back season from the disappointing addition.
Stud - Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence’s stat line doesn’t jump off the screen, especially after an interception in the fourth quarter dropped his passer rating to 74.4 on the day, but it’s tough to ask too much more from the Jaguars’ second-year quarterback.
He finished with 217 yards and a touchdown, but didn’t get any credit for a beautiful deep ball down the field that Christian Kirk couldn’t quite haul in. Lawrence also ran for 26 yards on three carries, moving the chains in a few tight spots.
It wasn’t a perfect performance from Lawrence, but he absolutely gave his team a chance to win.
Stud - Foye Oluokun
Another game, another ridiculous total of tackles for Oluokun.
Against the Chiefs, the Jaguars linebacker was credited with 14 tackles, six more than any other Jacksonville player and four more than Kansas City’s Nick Bolton.
Oluokun was also able to generate three pressures, two hurries, and a quarterback hit.
His night will probably be best remembered for his dropped interception and Jerick McKinnon’s exceptional block. But Oluokun’s primary role is to keep two- or three-yard plays from becoming six- or seven-yard plays and he’s fantastic at it.
