Chiefs vs. Jaguars: Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu quietly impress

Kansas City Stays Disciplined

Much has been said about the Jacksonville Jaguars playing style, particularly how aggressive, physical, and even dirty they can be on defense. Travis Kelce was actually quoted this week saying “They try to be the bully.”

Sunday was no exception with plenty of late hits, an abundance of trash talk, and way more punches thrown than should be acceptable. Myles Jack even got ejected after throwing punches at Sammy Watkins.

Last season, the Chiefs gave in to the bully and retaliated. They earned 11 penalties and 2 ejections in the process. At home, it came off as an ugly game, and put K.C. in a situation that could have been troubling for future games and ejections.

This season, the Chiefs kept their heads down and stayed disciplined. Kansas City committed only 5 penalties and left without any ejections. This is not just an improvement on past performances against the Jaguars, but also a great start to the season when it comes to limiting mistakes.

Last season, Kansas City committed 137 penalties (approximately 9 penalties/game), and averaged 72 penalty yards per game. For a defense with the flaws that K.C. has, those 17 yards a game could be more important than we might realize.

Early in the game, while the game was still close, Kansas City actually managed to commit to only two penalties, racking up a majority of their penalties late in the game. This discipline will come in handy even more as the season wears on and other games are significantly closer.