Smothering defense keeps K.C. unbeaten
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes finally had thrown an interception, the first all season for the Chiefs’ young quarterback, and the Jacksonville offense had shuffled back onto the field.
The Chiefs immediately strip-sacked Blake Bortles to take the ball right back.
Kansas City’s beleaguered defense also picked off four Bortles passes and sacked him five times, and Chris Jones took one of those interceptions back for a touchdown, proving during a 30-14 romp over Jacksonville on a soggy Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium that the Chiefs are more than just an offensive dynamo.
“It shows what kind of team we are,” said Mahomes, who finished with 313 yards passing and ran for a touchdown. “I’m just excited to come out with a win on a day the defense made plays.”
Oh, the league’s highestscoring offense still made plays.
Kareem Hunt ran for 87 yards and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce hauled in five receptions for 100 yards, helping the Chiefs (5-0) move the ball at will against the NFL’s top-rated defense.
Tyreek Hill, who was frequently matched against the Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey in a entertaining one-on-one affair, added four catches for 61 yards.
“That play calling was something I’ve never seen before,” said the Jaguars’ Tashaun Gipson, who intercepted a Mahomes pass before leaving with a groin injury. “Tip your hat to them. Obviously, the offensive personnel they’ve got — they came out here and they beat us.”
The game eventually grew into a testy affair, resulting in two ejections.
Jones was booted in the second half after he dropped an elbow on a Jacksonville lineman while both were on the ground following a point-after attempt. Then, pass rusher Dee Ford joined him in the locker room when he was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
“You can’t let emotions get the best of you,” Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said.
If anybody had reason to get frustrated, it was Bortles, who was 33-for-61 for 430 yards with a touchdown and those four interceptions. Most of his yardage came in garbage time, and though he ran for a touchdown, he also was strip-sacked during the first half.