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Where does Jacksonville Jaguars' win over Chiefs rank all-time in team history?
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- Where does Jacksonville Jaguars' win over Chiefs rank all-time in team history?
Because of the opponent, the thrilling ending and the primetime stage, was Monday night's 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs one of the biggest in Jaguars regular-season history?
I thought so as soon as Trevor Lawrence scrambled for a 1-yard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining, but enlisted Jaguars senior correspondent Brian Sexton, the team's radio voice from 1995-2013 and current preseason television voice, for his insight.
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In chronological order, Sexton provided his 11 biggest regular-season wins:
Oct. 1, 1995 at Houston (17-16):The first win in Jaguars history.
Nov. 24, 1996 at Baltimore (28-25 overtime):The Jaguars trailed 25-10 entering the fourth quarter before two Mark Brunell touchdown passes forced overtime. It started a five-game winning streak to clinch their first playoff berth.
Dec. 22, 1996 vs. Atlanta (19-17):Falcons kicker Morten Andersen's missed 30-yard field goal with four seconds left clinched the Jaguars' first playoff spot.
Nov. 2, 1997 at Tennessee in Memphis (30-24):Tony Brackens tackled Tennessee's Frank Wycheck short of the goal-line on fourth down with 2:58 left. It started a 6-2 run to the playoffs.
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Nov. 15, 1998 vs. Tampa Bay (29-24):Fred Taylor's 70-yard touchdown run with 2:52 remaining was the go-ahead score.
Dec. 13, 1999 vs. Denver (27-24):On a Monday night, Mike Hollis' 23-yard field goal was good as time expired. It was the Jaguars' 11th straight win.
Sept. 25, 2005 at N.Y. Jets (26-20 overtime):Jimmy Smith won it with a 36-yard touchdown catch with 8:55 left in overtime.
Dec. 16, 2007 at Pittsburgh (29-22):The Jaguars led 22-7 entering the fourth quarter, but needed Taylor's 12-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left to win. The Jaguars would go back to Pittsburgh in the playoffs and win, similar to 2017.
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Nov. 27, 2022 vs. Baltimore (28-27):The teams combined for 33 fourth-quarter points, capped by Lawrence's 2-point conversion pass to Zay Jones with 14 seconds remaining .
Dec. 18, 2022 vs. Dallas (40-34 in overtime): The Jaguars trailed 27-10 with 5:21 left in the third quarter, but scored 30 points from that point, including Rayshawn Jenkins 52-yard interception return touchdown in overtime.
Jan. 7, 2023 vs. Tennessee (26-20): In a winner-takes-the-AFC-South game , Josh Hines-Allen won it with a 37-yard fumble return touchdown with 2:51 remaining.
Monday night vs. Kansas City (31-28):The Jaguars trailed 14-0 and won on Lawrence's touchdown.
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Sexton's top two? The playoff-clinching wins over Atlanta in 1996 and Tennessee to cap the 2022 regular season.
Here are 10 other thoughts on the Jaguars' win over Kansas City:
1. Calling on back-ups
The Jaguars didn't have defensive end Travon Walker (left wrist surgery) and lost tight end Brenton Strange (hip, placed on injured reserve Tuesday) and center Robert Hainsey (left hamstring) during the game.
In Walker's place, Emmanuel Ogbah started and played 40 of 64 snaps and they also worked in linebacker Dennis Gardeck as an edge rusher.
Minus Strange for the entire second half, Hunter Long saw 35 snaps and Johnny Mundt 17.
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Hainsey departed after 41 snaps and was replaced by Jonah Monheim .
2. Tush push malfunction
As soon as Strange motioned to directly behind Lawrence on the Jaguars' fourth-and-goal play from 1, it looked like tush push time.
It was supposed to be tush push time, but Lawrence decided to leave his feet to jump over the line. Before he crossed the goal-line, he fumbled.
"You don't really want to go over the top when you've got somebody pushing you," coach Liam Coen said. "That's a good learning moment for us."
3. End-of-first-half stop
The Jaguars were in a tricky spot after cutting Kansas City's lead to 14-7 with 2:38 left in the first half. The touchdown was good stuff by Lawrence. Receiver Parker Washington lined up in the left slot and didn't exactly run a crisp route (drifted outside), but Lawrence was still on the money for a 3-yard score.
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The defense then did their job to go into halftime down only seven. Kansas City started at its 35. On first down, Hines-Allen stayed home and stopped receiver Xavier Worthy for a 6-yard loss on a pop pass. On second down, defensive tackle Arik Armstead pressured quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of the pocket and an eventual throwaway. The Chiefs punted after gaining 8 yards on third-and-16.
4. Trevor Lawrence's rushing
Lawrence finished with 10 rushes for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
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The 10 carries were tied for fourth-most by a Jaguars quarterback. David Garrard is first with 12 in a 2007 win at Denver. Lawrence has two 10-carry games.
The 54 yards was tied for 17th-most by a Jaguars quarterback. Blake Bortles remains the single-game leader with 81 yards in a 2016 loss at Buffalo.
The two rushing touchdowns was tied for most by a Jaguars quarterback, set three other times by Lawrence and once apiece by Bortles, Garrard and Quinn Gray.
5. Allowing chunk plays
The Jaguars' defense allowed a season-high nine explosive plays —five passes of at least 16 yards and four rushes of at least 12 yards.
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The Chiefs had explosive completions of 34, 32, 24, 20 and 19 yards and explosive rushes of 33, 16, 15 and 14 yards. The 33-yard gain by Kareem Hunt was the longest allowed by the Jaguars this year.
6. Penalty progress
The Jaguars made progress in the penalty department, finishing with a season-low four for a season-low 25 yards; they entered Week 5 with an NFL-high 38 enforced penalties.
Lawrence had his second illegal pass (crossing the line of scrimmage) and his third delay of game penalty of the season.
Kansas City was called for 10 of the last 11 enforced penalties.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) hauls in a reception against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Kansas City Chiefs 31-28. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
7. Brian Thomas' breakthrough
Maybe receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is kicking into gear. After only seven catches in Weeks 1-3, he caught nine passes in Weeks 4-5.
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Thomas' 80 yards against Kansas City was by far his most in a game this season (the previous was 55 against Houston).
On the winning drive, he collected Lawrence's 33-yard pass and then drew a Chiefs pass interference penalty in the end zone.
8. Week 4 fines
The NFL issued three fines from the Jaguars' Week 4 game at San Francisco .
Jaguars linebacker Dennis Gardeck was fined $11,274 for use of his helmet while tackling 49ers kick returner Skyy Moore (no penalty was called).
Jaguars defensive tackle Maason Smith was fined $10,124 for a blindside block of tight end Luke Farrell on linebacker Devin Lloyd 's first interception (penalty was called).
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And 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was fined $23,186 for use of his helmet while trying to tackle Lloyd during his second interception (no penalty was called).
9. Numbers of note
The Jaguars lead the league with 14 takeaways, four more than the next-closest team (Pittsburgh) and turnover differential (plus-8, Pittsburgh is next at plus-7). The Jaguars' 10 interceptions are three more than any team ( Chicago and Seattle ). … The Jaguars have fallen from eighth to 15th in yards per game (324.6) over the last three games. … The defense fell from 10th (316.3) to 23rd (348.2) in yards allowed per game after the Chiefs rolled up 476 yards. … The Jaguars for the first time since 2007.
10. Ups & Downs
Ups: Lloyd had the 99-yard interception return touchdown , giving him three picks in the last two games. … The offensive line allowed Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones to an assisted tackle in 38 snaps (Jones gave up on the play Lawrence scored the winner). … Logan Cooke averaged 51.5 yards net on two punts.
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Downs:The run game for the Jaguars running backs. Travis Etienne had 49 yards on 12 carries and a long of eight yards and Bhayshul Tuten gained six yards on four attempts. … Cornerback Tyson Campbell allowed two long completions (but did have seven tackles). … The Jaguars failed to record a sack for the first time this season.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars making progress with penalties, passing game
