Jaguars Film Review: Two Star Players Shine vs. Chiefs

It wasn’t a perfect game from Trevor Lawrence, with two turnovers, one of them off of a missed defensive pass interference. He missed open reads at times and made some bone-headed decisions as a passer– all of which are fair critiques for a quarterback on his fourth or fifth play-caller. However, he made the throws he needed to lead Jacksonville to its massive win on Monday night.

Let’s look at the final drive and the third-down throw. It is third down after a sack on Lawrence, and the Jaguars come out of 11 personnel in a 3x1 set that is motioned to 2x2. The Chiefs send a five-man mug pressure against single-high robber coverage, and all the while, Thomas wins this go-route with a split release into his route to get back to Jaylen Watson’s outside shoulder.

Watch from the end zone angle as Lawrence holds the high safety with his eyes, and by doing this, he can give Brian Thomas Jr. a chance at making a play on the football. The placement is high-level, into the bucket, setting up the Jaguars deep inside Chiefs territory. For my money, this was one of the best throws Lawrence has made at any level.

The very next play is another high-level throw from Lawrence. Once more, 3x1 becomes 2x2 with what I call a “fork” concept with a corner from Hunter Long (84) and Travis Hunter (post). Thomas, on the outside to the far side, is going to pace his route slowly to draw No. 27 Chamarri Conner, and it allows Dyami Brown to attack Watson’s cushion.

Lawrence does another great job at holding the safety and MIKE defenders to garner space for Brown before throwing a rope from the far hash with great accuracy.

There are other throws in this game I could’ve highlighted, but the Jaguars don’t win this game with Lawrence, his ability to maintain eye discipline in these key moments, and the arm talent to make any throw to all levels of the field. Lawrence also won with his legs for two scores, including the wonky game-winner, which adds a brand-new element to Liam Coen’s offense.

Again, it wasn’t pretty, and both Coen and Lawrence will be the first to tell you they need to be better offensively. Yet, it is hard to ignore how the Jaguars are heading in the right direction with these two important individuals.

Devin Lloyd's game-changing play

No defensive player is off to as great of a start as Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd. He has a takeaway in four straight games, including two interceptions a week ago against the 49ers. This week, he made one of the most memorable plays in franchise history with his 99-yard pick-six against Patrick Mahomes, a play that, according to NFL Pro, led to a 42 percent win probability swing in the third quarter from 28 to 70 percent.

The Chiefs come up to the line with second-and-goal from the three-yard line and a trail concept that has JuJu Smith-Schuster running a drag underneath and an angle route from Travis Kelce, as he sells the flat and then angles hard back to the middle of the field. Tyquan Thornton is going to run a dig route to draw defenders away. This is something Kansas City has been masterful at for years in the red zone, but they faced a great defensive coordinator already in Anthony Campanile.

Mahomes is expecting zero blitz, basically Cover 0 with man defense across the board, and the trail concept is supposed to be the beater to this, especially with Lloyd and Foye Oluokun walking up to the line of scrimmage mugging the A-gap. At the snap, Lloyd shows pressure but drops to the strong side of the field and into the throwing lane of Mahomes to Smith-Schuster, and the rest is history.

Travis Hunter shines once more

Once more, there are many discussions as to where Hunter should focus exclusively as a two-way football player. It is clear that he is an exceptional playmaker as a wide receiver, but he has also shown himself to be a great cornerback with great coverage skills and instincts, and a willingness to tackle in run support.

Hunter saw snaps against Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs' top pass-catcher currently. Whether it was in man, trail, cloud, or press, Hunter stayed stride for stride with the fastest player in the NFL. Look at this coverage rep against Worthy: there is ample patience in his backpedal, and he remains disciplined against the double move while maintaining his presence at the hip pocket.

Slowly but surely, Coen is finding ways to get the ball to Hunter in space. Look at this split backfield look with Hunter and Bhayshul Tuten at Lawrence’s hip– these kinds of looks are a staple of the McVay coaching tree and allow for free access to grass against certain coverages. The player you see in space is the one you will get from Hunter regularly.

This game was also the second time in as many weeks that Hunter made a terrific play at the catch point. Lawrence also made a terrific play here off a 2x2 under-center play-action with a deep curl on the close side and post-go on the far side to evade pressure. There is great trust between quarterback and receiver here, and Hunter’s incredible catch above the rim is normal for him.

The Jaguars' usage of Hunter is the way it should be. I thought his offense-to-defense snap ratio (39 offense, 25 defense) was more than fair and gives both Coen and Campanile quality time on either side of the ball to utilize him the way they want, giving them ample advantages against opponents, their rotations at wide receiver and cornerback, and getting the best out of No. 12.

The online discourse around Hunter is fascinating because people want to see Hunter at his best on whichever side of the ball they believe he is better suited for. Let’s call it how it is: he is an excellent football player who provides outstanding value, and Olympic-like athleticism and stamina to play either position at a high level.

Quick-hitting takeaways from the Jaguars All-22

• Monday night was a showcase of rookies for the Jaguars. LeQuint Allen Jr. and Tuten flashed again, with Allen shining in pass protection. However, offensive lineman and seventh-round selection Jonah Monheim was swell in pass protection and the run game in the absence of the injured Robert Hainsey late in the game. Safety Rayuan Lane III made some excellent tackles on special teams, quickly becoming a core player on the unit.

• Brian Thomas Jr. is gaining more confidence by the week as he had his best game of the season, so far, with four catches for 80 yards. He showed confidence as a pass-catcher again and the feeling he possessed on Monday night was one of excitement, winning at all three levels of the field and creating after the catch. He has a chance to produce against the Seahawks this weekend.

• With Brenton Strange missing time with a hip injury, that means Hunter Long and Johnny Mundt will fill in the void. Both players made plays in different facets, with Long showcasing his receiving profile while Mundt made good blocks in the run game. This is how the room will look as the Jaguars will look to find more ways to get creative without Strange for at least a month.