Mahomes throws 4 TD passes as Chiefs beat Jaguars 27-17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns, Kadarius Toney showed glimpses of stardom in his second game for the Chiefs and Kansas City rolled to a 27-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Toney, who was acquired a couple of week ago from the Giants, had 33 yards rushing to go with four catches for 57 yards and his first NFL touchdown reception, helping the Chiefs (7-2) win their sixth straight over the Jaguars.
Travis Kelce, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Noah Gray also had touchdown catches for the Chiefs.
The win came at a cost for Kansas City: wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was placed in the concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco early in the game. The blow left Smith-Schuster motionless on the turf for a moment, though he eventually stood and walked off with some help.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to Christian Kirk, who finished with nine catches for 105 yards for the Jaguars (3-7). Zay Jones also had eight catches for 68 yards while Travis Etienne ran for 45 yards.
The Jaguars became the first team in five years to recover an onside kick to open the game, but their offense squandered the opportunity — and several more. They punted five times and missed a field goal on their first six possessions.
The Chiefs had no such trouble reaching the end zone.
Mahomes, trying to become the third quarterback in NFL history with three straight 400-yard passing games, had 191 by halftime. That included the touchdown reception for Toney, the injury-prone former first-round draft pick.
The Jaguars finally scored on Kirk’s catch with 11 seconds to go, then had a chance to add points when Chiefs tight end Jody Fortson inexplicably fumbled the kickoff return. But after a quick completion set up the 41-yard field goal try, Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson yanked his second attempt of the half wide left.
Jacksonville tried to get back into the game after halftime with a plodding drive that consumed nearly 10 minutes, but it fizzled out in the red zone and only resulted in a field goal to make it 20-10.
As so often happens, Kansas City answered with a 75-yard drive that ended in Travis Kelce’s touchdown reception.
It was his eighth TD catch of the season and the 65th of Kelce’s career, moving him into second in Chiefs history. It also gave Mahomes his 16th game with at least four TD passes, the ninth most by a quarterback since at least 1950.
The Jaguars trimmed their deficit to 27-17 with 5 1/2 minutes to go, when Lawrence converted on fourth down with a pass to Jones, then hit Kirk almost entirely uncovered from 19 yards out for the touchdown.
Rather than try another onside kick, the Jaguars kicked deep and Kansas City ran out the clock.
PICKING IT UP
Smith-Schuster’s injury was reminiscent of the concussion sustained by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earlier this season in that the helmet-to-helmet blow from Cisco left his hands momentarily frozen. The officials initially flew a flag for the hit on a defenseless receiver, but referee Brad Rogers ruled it was clean without offering an explanation.
PICKING IT UP, PART 2
Rogers also threw a flag when Mahomes was hit high while getting intercepted by Cisco with about eight minutes left in the game. After deliberating with another official, Rogers also picked up that flag and allowed the turnover to stand.
INJURIES
Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman (abdominal) was inactive after scoring five TDs in his past three games. CB Chris Lammons was placed in the concussion protocol after taking a hit on punt coverage in the first half. RT Andrew Wylie left in the first half with a left elbow injury and did not return.
UP NEXT
The Jaguars are off next week before playing the Ravens on Nov. 27.
The Chiefs visit the Chargers next Sunday night.
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