Jacksoville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs: slowing Chiefs' offense down is a mission impossible

Or is it?

There is no doubt that the Chiefs have the best offense in the NFL. Bunch of great receivers, a QB with a cannon arm and an offensive line that can keep him upright. It is extremely rare to find a defense that can match-up well against the Chiefs offense and possibly slow them down a little bit.

I truly believe that the Jaguars have a defensive unit, capable of doing that. Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye are one of the best cornerback duos and they are accompanied by DJ Hayden doing a great job at the nickel spot. Upfront, they've got a couple of great pass rushers off the edge like Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, who are able to put pressure on the opposing quarterback and force him to get the ball out of his hands quickly. And last but not least, a fast group of linebackers, that can keep contain and prevent Mahomes from extending plays and finding receivers downfield for big gains.

Prevention over treatment

But the best recipe when playing against high scoring offenses is dealing with it as little as possible. You might ask yourself how is that even possible. Well, to succeed in that, your offense needs to play part in it as well. Sustaining long drives, with numerous running plays will keep Mahomes & Co. on the sidelines for longer periods of time. If they are not on the field, they can't score. It's that easy. At the same time, it also keeps your defense fresh and explosive.

The question is if the Jaguars have what it takes to pull off a gameplan like this one. They struggled mightily last year, but they are entering this season healthier and ready to roll. They are still missing Cam Robinson at the left tackle, who suffered a setback in August. But with the interior Cann-Linder-Norwell being ready to go, I think Fournette will once again be a feared running back like he was couple years ago. He is a sledgehammer who will always fall forward for positive yardage and someone that you really don't wanna meet in the hole if you're the linebacker. Acquiring Nick Foles from Philadelphia is an instant boost for their passing game. They had a horrible passing offense in previous years, which allowed opponents to stack the box with 8 defenders and have the advantage when defending the run. That advantage goes away now, which is why I think Jaguars will be way more efficient on offense this season.

Speaking of Chiefs defense, they had one of the worst run defenses last year. Replacing defensive coordinator Bob Sutton with Steve Spagnuolo and switching from 3-4 to 4-3 might help them, but I still don't think they are becoming an elite run defense anytime soon.

Weather

Florida weather in September is no joke. It's hot, it's humid and the visiting teams usually have problems getting used to it. Especially the guys in the trenches, carrying around 300+ lbs. 37 degrees Celcius is expected later today with 80% humidity. Whichever team can run the ball with more success and wear the opposing defense down with that, will hold an upper hand when it comes to winning the game in the end. In my opinion, that will be the Jaguars. They have a big home-field advantage with these weather conditions and I believe they are one of the worst matchups for the Chiefs.