The Kansas City Chiefs escaped with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in week one of the 100th season of the National Football League.
The first quarter of this contest felt good if you are a Kansas City Chiefs fan.
The Chiefs offense waltzed down the field on every first quarter possession, as Sammy Watkins enjoyed a career game—in the first half—and Patrick Mahomes looked every bit of his MVP form from a year ago. No regression was in sight for Mahomes, and the defense was, of course, lackluster. But hey, Chiefs Kingdom is used to that.
Nick Foles was knocked out of the tilt at the 2:36 mark in the first frame on the same play that he threw a beautiful touchdown pass. As sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew entered the game, it seemed like everything was turning up Chiefs.
However, that feeling faded fast. The Washington State product completed his first 13 passes and led the Jaguars on a few impressive drives. The pass rush was almost non-existent, and the secondary proved to be as concerning as we all feared. Chris Conley pulled off one of the best games in his career against his former team.
The dark cloud over Week 1 for Kansas City came on offense but not because of production. The Jaguars defense knocked Tyreek Hill out for the game with a shoulder injury when Jalen Ramsey slammed him to the ground. Then, Myles Jack was ejected due to throwing a punch at DeMarcus Robinson on the same play that Patrick Mahomes was rolled up—resulting in having his ankle reevaluated and taped in the medical tent. It was clear from that point that this game would be chippy.
The offensive line for Kansas City failed to protect Patrick Mahomes, and on any play that was not an immediate checkdown, the franchise quarterback took a shot from the Jags front seven. The feeling of excitement quickly faded to nauseousness as many of us inside of Chiefs Kingdom just wanted to see this game end with no more injuries.
Sammy Watkins was the shining star on Sunday. The talk all offseason long centered around the fact that he had the best offseason of his career and it showed this afternoon when he passed his career-high in yards in a single game with over nine minutes remaining in the first half. Watkins finished with 9 catches for 198 yards and found the end zone three times.
After the Chiefs took a commanding 30-13 lead in the late stages of the third quarter, the topic on the forefront of Chiefs fans minds shifted from the play on the field, to the possible long-lasting injuries off the field of Hill and Mahomes’ ankle. Though Mahomes was able to gut through it, he never looked like himself the rest of the contest.
Fortunately the Chiefs still left Jacksonville with a 40-26 victory. Up next for the Kansas City Chiefs they will travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders in Week 2.