Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Odds, Prediction, Depth Chart (11/13/22)

The 3-6 (1-2) Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Arrowhead stadium to face off against the 6-2 (2-0) Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at 1:00pm ET in a battle between a bonafide contender and a team fighting for an identity. While these teams did not play last year, this inter-conference affair may get out of hand early if the spread and odds indicate anything. Let’s take a look at the odds, preview, prediction, injuries, key matchup, and depth charts to see who has the edge in this one. 

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs Odds

The Jacksonville Jaguars are getting +9.5 points for their visit to Kansas City, while the Chiefs remain a comfortable -9.5 and -450 on the moneyline. The Jaguars currently rest at +330. The over/under is set at 49.5 points. 

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs Preview & Prediction

The Jacksonville Jaguars got off to a slow start against the Oakland Raiders before roaring back to a victory in the second half of last weeks 27-20 win. Trailing 20-10 at the end of the first half, Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars’ offense down the field in under 50 seconds and set up kicker Riley Patterson for a 44-yard field-goal that set up the team for a momentous second half. Receiving the ball to start the half, the Jaguars offense looked explosive for perhaps the first time all season as Lawrence and Travis Etienne shined on an opening drive touchdown. Lawrence finished with 235 yards and a touchdown on 80% passing while Etienne ended up with 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars defense, the team’s real strength, had an even better half as they forced three punts, a fumble, and a turnover on downs which held the Raiders to 0 second half points. 

The Kansas City Chiefs had less to boast about after nearly losing as -14.5 point favorites over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday Night football. In a game that pitted the league’s highest scoring offense against a team starting its back-up quarterback, odds-makers expected something much differently than the final 20-17 result that saw Kansas City escape with a narrow victory in overtime. For starters, kudos to Titans head coach Mike Vrabrael for always making things interesting against Kansas City, especially given his lack of great quarterback talent in his Titans’ tenure. Up 17-9 with under ten minutes remaining in the fourth, Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes proved why he’s the MVP frontrunner as he sliced and diced the Titans’ stingy defense with both his arms and his legs. Per usual, the Chiefs received the overtime ball and Mahomes capitalized as he willed a 64-yard touchdown drive. In all, the MVP-conversation for the legendary signal-caller only grew as Mahomes passed for 446 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on the night. 

GAME PREDICTION:

The Kansas City Chiefs are well-deserved -10.5 point favorites in this one. While Kansas City is a team that starts off slow and has a relatively light secondary (opposing quarterbacks are averaging a 101 passer rating), they find ways to win off of their trusty quarterback, his favorite tight end, and key defenders like Frank Clarke and Chris Jones. It may not make head coach Andy Reid happy, but the Chiefs are also 4-0 when trailing by 8+ points going into the back half of games. This team simply finds a way to win nearly every week. In their two losses to the Colts and the Bills, the Chiefs turned the ball over four times combined and Mahomes threw at least one pick in both games. If they can avoid turnovers, the Chiefs will win the game. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars on the other hand have finally had a glimpse of what their offense can be. With Travis Etiene rushing for 100 yards in back-to-back games, look for this Jaguars offense to try to pound the ball down the Chiefs throat similarly to how the Titans utilized Derrick Henry in the first half of last week’s game (115 yards, 2 TDs). With a quarterback who is a full step above rookie Malik Willis, the Jaguars passing attack poses more of a threat to the Chiefs secondary albeit Lawrence is limited behind a poor offensive line. For as much as the Jaguars won their game against the Raiders, defeating a 2-5 Las Vegas team that recently lost 24-0 to a dismal Saints team isn’t going to score you as many brownie points as it normally would.  

Aside from the team’s tenacious pass-rush led by first overall pick Tavon Walker, there’s little to be worried about on the Chiefs side coming into this game as the Jaguars offensive strength, its rushing attack, will most likely be stymied by the Chiefs 4th ranked rushing defense. Having to turn more and more to Trevor Lawrence as the game goes on, I expect the Chiefs defense to force some turnovers as the Jaguars offense becomes inept when its offensive line breaks down. Simply put, the Jaguars are too young a team to go blow-for-blow with a Kansas City team that seems poised to return to the AFC Championship. Expect Mahomes to strengthen his MVP-candidacy as well, as the Jaguars rank 25th in passing yards allowed and we’ve seen how effective this quarterback is when the pocket breaks down. Take the Chiefs to cover in this one and the under. 

Chiefs 31 | Jaguars 13 

Betting Trends

Jaguars are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win.

Chiefs are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 150 yards passing in their previous game.

Key Matchup

A key matchup in just a few words…

Jaguars Rush Attack vs Kansas City Defensive Line

A red-hot Etienne against one of the league’s best lines, boasting Frank Clarke and Chirs Jones. Expect the Chiefs to slow down this sophomore standout this week.

Jaguars Depth Chart

QB: Trevor Lawrence
RB1: Travis Etienne
RB2: JaMycal Hasty
LWR: Marvin Jones Jr.
RWR: Christian Kirk
SWR: Zay Jones
TE1: Evan Engram

Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Isiah Pacheco
RB2: Clyde-Edwards Helaire
LWR: M. Valdes Scantling
RWR: Mecole Hardman
SWR: J. Smith Schuster
TE1: Travis Kelce