KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Score one for the NFL's best scoring offense. Score a big one, actually.
And that was really bad news for the Jaguars.
Patrick Mahomes and the high-scoring Kansas City Chiefs took an early 20-point lead Sunday – and a mistake-prone Jaguars offense and the NFL's No. 1-ranked defense couldn't recover in a 30-14 loss to the unbeaten Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
It was a difficult day for the Jaguars on many fronts.
Quarterback Blake Bortles completed 33 of 61 passes for 430 yards and a touchdown with four interceptions – including two interceptions in the first half. The first was returned by defensive lineman Chris Jones for a 20-yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 20-point halftime lead; the second caromed off guard A.J. Cann's helmet and was intercepted by Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson in the end zone with :19 remaining in the half.
Those were two of three first-half Jaguars turnovers, and the Jaguars finished with a season-high five giveaways.
The Jaguars had three possessions inside the Kansas City five that ended with no points. They turned the ball over on downs inside the five in the second and fourth quarters, and had an interception in that situation near the end of the first half.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs' offense – which entered the game No. 1 in the NFL in scoring – was hot from the start.
Mahomes, the Chiefs' second-year quarterback who entered the game with 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions, ran for a five-yard touchdown on the game's first drive. The Chiefs followed that with a field goal on their second drive.
Mahomes completed 22 of 38 passes for 313 and no touchdowns with two interceptions. Tight end Travis Kelce caught five passes for 100 yards and running back Kareem Hunt rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
Safety Tashaun Gipson registered the Jaguars' second interception in the first half, the first by a Jaguars secondary that combined for 18 last season. The interception gave the Jaguars a first down at the Chiefs 35 late in the second quarter trailing just 10-0, but the Chiefs forced a turnover on the ensuing play when linebacker Breeland Speaks recovered a fumble at the Chiefs 49 after linebacker Dee Ford sacked Bortles.
The Jaguars registered a second interception when cornerback A.J. Bouye stepped in front of a fourth-quarter pass from Mahomes, but the Jaguars trailed 30-7 at that point.
Step by step:
*The Chiefs drove for a touchdown on their first possession, moving 73 yards in 10 plays and taking a 7-0 lead when Mahomes ran for a five-yard touchdown with 6:39 remaining. Mahomes completed passes to five receivers, with Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson penalized for offsides and safety Barry Church penalized for unnecessary roughness. The seven-point deficit marked the first time the Jaguars trailed by more than three points this season.
*The Chiefs pushed the lead to 10-0 with a 22-yard field goal by Harrison Butker capping a 14-play, 80-yard drive with 13:30 remaining in the second quarter; Kansas City had outgained the Jaguars 160-51 at that point. The Jaguars then missed an opportunity to cut into the lead, turning the ball over on downs when Bortles threw incomplete to tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins on 4th-and-2 at the Chiefs 4; that ended a 71-yard drive, the Jaguars' longest of the game to that point. Gipson's interception ended Kansas City's ensuing drive, but the Chiefs drove for a 42-yard field goal by Butker goal after Speaks' fumble recovery to make it 13-0 with 1:56 remaining in the half. Jones intercepted Bortles on the ensuing play from scrimmage, returning it 20 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 Chiefs halftime lead.
*The Chiefs pushed the lead to 23-0 with a 38-yard field goal by Butker before the Jaguars cut the lead to 23-7 with a 14-yard pass from Bortles to running back T.J. Yeldon with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter.
*A four-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt made it 30-7, Chiefs, on the first play of the fourth quarter. A 21-yard run by Bortles with 5:46 remaining made it 30-14, Chiefs.
Notable: Running back Leonard Fournette missed a third game in four weeks with a hamstring injury; Yeldon started in his place. Nickel cornerback D.J. Hayden (toe) missed a third consecutive game and rookie cornerback Tre Herndon (hamstring) also missed Sunday. Other Jaguars inactives Sunday: Defensive end Dawuane Smoot, nose tackle Eli Ankou, guard Chris Reed and offensive tackle Will Richardson Jr.
Injury report: Jaguars running back Corey Grant sustained a foot injury in the second quarter; he was carted from the field and did not return – leaving the Jaguars with Yeldon and Brandon Wilds as healthy, available running backs; left tackle Josh Wells left late in the second quarter with a groin injury; he was replaced by four-year veteran Josh Walker. Gipson left with a hamstring injury in the third quarter and did not return; he was replaced by Jarrod Wilson.
What's next: The Jaguars are scheduled to play the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, October 14 at 4:25 p.m.
