The Kansas City Chiefs survived a brief, frightening absence from their superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes to top the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 in the Divisional Round on Saturday afternoon. Mahomes missed multiple drives following an ankle injury, but the Chiefs survived and even thrived without the once and future MVP, taking a 17-10 halftime lead following a 98-yard touchdown drive led by backup quarterback Chad Henne.
Jaguars linebacker Arden Key landed on Mahomes' leg as the Chiefs passer was scrambling on a pass attempt in the first quarter. Mahomes was visibly hobbled, but the team rose up for their leader. Henne came through with a clutch touchdown drive, tight end Travis Kelce nabbed a tight end postseason record 14 catches for 98 yards, Chiefs runners combined for 144 rushing yards on 30 carries, and the defense shut down any chance at a Jaguars rally with two fourth-quarter takeaways. Mahomes added to his legend with his heroic second-half comeback, but he was largely a passenger in the comfortable win.The @Chiefs are moving on to the AFC Championship! 🙌 #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/uT0zbPKZNi
— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2023
As for the Jagauars, they looked every bit the team that finished the regular season 9-8. They couldn't pressure Mahomes or Henne, failing to register a single sack. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence netted a mere 205 yards on 42 dropbacks and sabotaged the team's last gasp with an ugly fourth-quarter interception. The only thing the Jaguars did well was run the ball: they totalled 144 yards on 19 rushes. Even a diminished Mahomes wasn't enough to narrow the talent and experience gap between the teams. The Jaguars overperformed to make it this far in the postseason, and they can take comfort in the knowledge that their future is bright.
The Chiefs will face the winner of Sunday afternoon's Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals game in the AFC Championship.
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