The Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars meet Saturday in NFL preseason week 1 action at EverBank Stadium. Here’s a Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs Prediction. This article will include a Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs Pick.
Kansas City Chiefs Betting Preview
The Kansas City Chiefs are the cream of the crop in the NFL, as they’ve made the playoffs every year since 2015 and have won 3 of the last 5 super bowls. With the duo of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs are the favorites to win the title again. Offensively, the Chiefs have offensive line concerns and had major receiver drops last season, but the drafting of receiver Xavier Worthy should help. Worthy brings the speed to the table that was lost with the moving on of Tyreek Hill. As long as Mahomes is under center, the Chiefs will figure things out offensively. We saw it last year when the KC offense was often out of sorts and was a frustrating watch.
Defensively, the loss of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed hurts, as he was typically the guy lining up against opposing team’s best receivers. With Aaron Donald retiring, you can argue the Chiefs have the best defensive tackle in the league in Chris Jones. George Karlaftis had a breakout sophomore season with 10.5 sacks and 3 pass deflections. The Chiefs have formed one of the best QB – head coach duos in NFL history, and they’re a threat as long as that remains intact.
Jacksonville Jaguars Betting Preview
The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a disappointing 9-win season and have still made the playoffs just twice since 2008. The Jaguars enter year 3 under coach Doug Pederson, who is now 60-53-1 for his career. The good news is the Jags looked like a playoff team when Trevor Lawrence was healthy, and he’s back this season with a brand-new shin contract. Lawrence has new receivers as well in Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas, while Travis Etienne Jr. remains one of the most underrated running backs in the league. There are concerns with the interior of the offensive line, but in terms of skill position players, the Jaguars have enough to be an above average offense.
The Jaguars defense will improve with the addition of Arik Armstead, and pairing him with Josh Hines-Allen, who is fresh off 17.5 sacks, is scary. I’m also intrigued by the additions of defensive backs Ronald Darby and Darnell Savage. The pressure has to be on Pederson to produce a winner this season, and the Jaguars currently have the second-best odds to win the AFC South.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs Prediction
It’s fair to say we’re not going to see Mahomes in this preseason game which means you’re getting a lot of Ian Book, Chris Oladokun and Carson Wentz, with Wentz being the only player truly experienced in the NFL. On the other side, the Jaguars are going to throw out C.J. Beathard and Mac Jones, guys who may stink, but have nearly a combined 2,000 passing attempts. My focus is all on quarterback depth in the preseason, and I think it’s fair to say there’s more potential with the Jaguars situation, even if Jones is awful. I’ll lay the points with the Jags at home.