The Kansas City Chiefs lost in devastating fashion to the Jacksonville Jaguars at the hands of a last minute touchdown. The loss drops them to a very disappointing 2-3 record after winning two straight.

The loss came in spite of another overall good offensive performance from Patrick Mahomes and company, as Kansas City continues to find ways to lose.

First Half

The Chiefs got off to an incredible start, taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter after an incredible play by former Missouri Tiger and current star linebacker for the Chiefs, Nick Bolton. On 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line, Bolton knocked the ball free from Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s possession before the ball broke the goal line, and the Chiefs recovered.

The Kansas City offense rode the momentum of this stop with a five play, 97-yard touchdown drive, their longest such drive since 2023. The drive was capped off by a 34-yard touchdown reception from Tyquan Thornton which brought his yard total to 90 yards on three receptions. Unfortunately for Kansas City, that would be his final reception of the night.

Jacksonville was able to score a touchdown before the half, but the Chiefs still had a 14-7 lead and were set to receive the ball to start the second half.

Second Half

The second half was a completely different story from the first, as Kansas City would suffer a frustrating three-and-out possession before the Jaguars would mount a second touchdown drive to tie things up.

On their second drive of the third quarter, the Chiefs seemed to have a response as Mahomes and Isaiah Pacheco paired to lead the team down to the opposing three-yard line before tragedy struck. Mahomes threw an interception, just his second of the year, to Jacksonville linebacker Devin Lloyd who returned it 99 yards the other way for a touchdown.

That interception put Lloyd at the top of the leaderboard for interceptions this season with four, set a franchise record for longest pick-six in Jaguars’ history and, most importantly, put Jacksonville up 21-14 near the end of the third.

After another punt, an interception by Kansas City cornerback Trent McDuffie set the Chiefs up at Jacksonville’s 10-yard line where the offense quickly tied things at 21 to begin the fourth quarter. Jacksonville responded with a field goal to take the lead back before the Chiefs took their first lead since 14-7 with another touchdown drive.

Wild Finish

Jacksonville was able to work their way down the field all the way to the Kansas City 14-yard line before facing a 3rd-and-13 with 38 seconds left and no timeouts when a pass interference call against Kansas City cornerback Chamarri Conner set the Jaguars up at the one.

Things then got wacky. Lawrence slipped to the ground on first and goal before getting back up, stumbling multiple times, and still making his way into the endzone for the 31-28 lead with just 23 seconds remaining. The offense was not able to pull off a 2021 AFC Divisional round miracle and Kansas City was staring at their third loss of the season, something that they did not obtain until last year’s Super Bowl.

Key Statistics

Mahomes, outside of his pick-six, had another pretty good game: it was his first 300+ yard passing game of the year. He ended the game going 29/41 for 318 yards with a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing for the third time this season with six carries for 60 yards.

The fact that Mahomes led the team in rushing yards yet again may lead one to believe that the rushing game didn’t have much of an effect. However, Pacheco and fellow running back Kareem Hunt both averaged over five yards a carry but were only given seven carries each.

Pacheco turned his seven carries into a solid 36 yards while Hunt really made the most of his seven touches, turning out 49 yards.

Outside of Thornton, three receivers obtained over 40 yards as Travis Kelce yet again had a solid outing with seven receptions for 61 yards.

The defense, despite the 31 points seen on the scoreboard, did have another good game overall, with Bolton leading the way. On top of the forced fumble at the goal line, Bolton also racked up a team-leading 12 tackles, a pass deflection and a tackle for loss.

The Outlook

This team is perplexing and is almost the opposite of last season, in which the team continuously looked unimpressive but still found ways to win — now the team continues to look good and find ways to not come out on top.

Mahomes is having an overall good season with 1,257 yards, eight touchdowns to only two interceptions and a solid 63.4% completion percentage. Players like Xavier Worthy and Thornton have been stepping up in the receiver room while Pacheco and Hunt continue to be solid options in the backfield. The defense, while slightly less dominant than during its 2024 campaign, is still doing better than average, allowing just 21.4 points per game.

If the team can rid themselves of their mistakes and miscues that they can succeed at a very high level, but the point remains that they have to get back to their winning ways no matter what as the playoffs draw nearer.