KANSAS CITY — A bruising operating sport, a smothering protection and a sterling cameo efficiency by a backup quarterback have been sufficient on Saturday to ship Kansas Metropolis to its fifth straight look within the A.F.C. championship sport.
The 27-20 victory over Jacksonville was secured solely after Kansas Metropolis rookie Jaylen Watson intercepted Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence with slightly below 4 minutes left within the sport. Moments earlier, Kansas Metropolis linebacker Nick Bolton had recovered a Jamal Agnew fumble contained in the 5-yard line because the Jaguars have been closing in on a rating.
The high-flying Kansas Metropolis offense was not precisely grounded however needed to put itself on autopilot after quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his ankle within the first half. The crew’s coaching workers employed all its energy of persuasion to get the recalcitrant Mahomes to the locker room for a greater take a look at his damage.
Backup Chad Henne dispelled the anxiousness of the abruptly murmuring sold-out crowd at Arrowhead Stadium. He went 5 of seven for 23 yards and led Kansas Metropolis on a 98-yard landing drive, and his crew took a 17-10 lead at halftime.
Mahomes did handle to return for the second half, however Kansas Metropolis leaned into the operating of Isiah Pacheco, who rumbled for 95 yards on 12 carries. By the fourth quarter, with Kansas Metropolis holding a 20-17 lead, Mahomes resembled his outdated self, in quick-strike trend taking the offense 75 yards in below 5 minutes, capped by a 6-yard landing to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
The Jaguars had gained six straight, together with a 27-point comeback victory in opposition to the Los Angeles Chargers final week of their first playoff look because the 2017 season to earn the best to attempt to derail Kansas Metropolis’s Tremendous Bowl aspirations.
They could very effectively have, had they solely corrected two tendencies that haunted all of them season: an lack of ability to maintain tight ends from strafing their secondary and their receivers’ penchant for dropping catchable balls.
The Jaguars led the league with 41 dropped passes, based on Professional Soccer Reference, and that doubtful distinction was on show, particularly within the opening drive of the second half, when Christian Kirk dropped a Lawrence strike on third-and-7 from their very own 40-yard line. Within the first half, Kirk, who had seven drops on the season, was vast open within the Kansas Metropolis purple zone when he bobbled and misplaced a Lawrence deep ball.
The Jaguars have been the N.F.L.’s worst protection in opposition to tight ends this previous season by yardage, and Kansas Metropolis tight finish Travis Kelce discovered canyons within the Jaguars secondary on Saturday; he had 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes wasted little time taking part in pitch and catch with Kelce on Kansas Metropolis’s opening drive. His first two passes have been to Kelce, who led all tight ends this season with 110 receptions. By the top of a six-minute, 83-yard drive, Kelce had caught two extra, together with an 8-yard landing go.
Jacksonville confirmed its mettle, although. Agnew returned the following kickoff 63 yards to the Kansas Metropolis 39-yard line. Lawrence wanted simply 5 performs to search out Kirk for a 10-yard landing.
The usually raucous crowd at Arrowhead Stadium went worriedly quiet after Mahomes was hit on a go as the primary quarter was winding down; Jacksonville linebacker Arden Key landed heavily on Mahomes’s right leg. The quarterback was clearly hobbled as he acquired up.
The Kansas Metropolis coaching workers acquired busy between quarters wrapping Mahomes’s leg to deal with what the crew reported was an ankle injury. And he was again on the sector to complete a drive that concluded with a 50-yard area aim by Harrison Butker for a 10-7 lead.
On the following Jacksonville possession, Lawrence moved the ball effectively down the sector, although a sack in the end pressured the Jaguars to punt. In the meantime, there was drama on the Kansas Metropolis sideline: The crew’s coaching workers wished to take Mahomes to the locker room for farther analysis; he barked that he didn’t need to go.
Mahomes misplaced that argument.
So simply as two years in the past in opposition to the Browns, it was as much as backup quarterback Chad Henne to get Kansas Metropolis again to the A.F.C. championship.
In 2021, Mahomes suffered a concussion; Henne had by no means thrown a go — and even performed a snap — within the postseason regardless of 11 seasons within the N.F.L. However he led a game-sealing drive, together with a go on fourth-and-short.
This yr, Coach Andy Reid was once more asking for Henne’s assist. Beginning at Kansas Metropolis’s personal 2-yard line, Henne confirmed Reid and his teammates that he deserved their confidence.