3 Heroes From the Chiefs’ Week 2 Win Over Jaguars

Thanks to a masterful defensive effort and timely offensive heroics, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-9 on Patrick Mahomes’ birthday, regaining control of their destiny for the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs.

Much credit is due to many people, as this is an excellent get-right win after losing to the Lions on Thursday Night Football in Week 1.

Not all was perfect, but today’s win was a step in the right direction and potentially a sign of something much more significant.

Let’s look at three heroes from the impressive win.

3 Heroes From the Chiefs’ Week 2 Win

1. Steve Spagnuolo

What an incredible performance from the defense. This was a special, special outing.

Trevor Lawrence is a rising superstar and Kansas City held him to 5.3 yards per attempt and a whopping ZERO touchdowns. Steve Spagnuolo was phenomenal today and the defense’s effort should have Chiefs fans thinking big.

Chris Jones showed he didn’t miss a beat, George Karlaftis was excellent, Trent McDuffie looks like he’s taking a year-two leap, and Kansas City’s defense is without question a top-10 unit through two weeks.

We’ve wondered what Patrick Mahomes would look like with a good defense. I fully expect the offense to turn things around moving forward, so we might actually get to find out.

So far, this is the best defense Mahomes has ever played with. Don’t forget that Charles Omenihu is coming back in five weeks too. We’re only 1-1, but I’m more optimistic about this team than I was prior to the season because of how good the defense looks.

2. Skyy Moore

He’s alive! Moore finished with three catches for 70 yards and a receiving TD on a beautiful route, redeeming himself from last week’s goose egg with timely plays and dependable route-running.

We knew Mahomes would go back to Kadarius Toney despite the drops, but Moore’s standing in the wide receiver hierarchy was less clear. Seeing Mahomes go Moore’s way on third down and late in the game was promising, and it probably jolts Moore’s confidence as well.

https://twitter.com/BradHensonPro/status/1703503346282135742

Moore was expected to be a major part of the offense this season. Week 1 was a rough start, but this was the type of bounceback game you hoped to see for the former second-round pick.

It’s no coincidence that Travis Kelce’s gravity helped free up space for Moore, and I’m encouraged about his role moving forward.

As the offense grows more comfortable and works out the kinks, it looks like we can expect that Skyy Moore will still play a pivotal role.

Moore now has two TDs in his last three games played. I’m excited to see what his stat line looks like in a tasty matchup with a pitiful Bears defense next week.

3. Trent McDuffie

With respect to Chris Jones, who was spectacular in his return, Trent McDuffie is my defensive MVP through two weeks.

After forcing a red-zone turnover against Detroit, McDuffie helped hold Calvin Ridley to just two catches for 32 yards and broke up two Zay Jones TD catches by shoving him out of bounds.

McDuffie was credited with a QB hit as well, showcasing his versatility, and it looks like Brett Veach may have found a star in the first round last year.

Pairing a shutdown cornerback with a pass-rusher like Jones raises the ceiling for this defense and would provide a massive boost in the playoffs against teams like Cincinnati or Buffalo.

McDuffie just celebrated his 23rd birthday last week and he could quickly become one of the better defensive players in the league if his trajectory holds. I’ll be watching him closely against wideouts like DJ Moore and Garrett Wilson over the next two weeks, but his breakout has been the biggest story of the first two weeks in my opinion.

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