Jaguars knock off Chiefs 26-13 to open preseason

The Jaguars returned to the friendly confines of EverBank Stadium on Saturday Night after a 222-day absence. In dire need of a complete reset, the 275-million-dollar man, Trevor Lawrence saw two series of action, and overall looked in control with Press Taylor calling offensive plays.

Lawrence's opening drive was set up by an electric 74-yard kickoff return from Parker Washington. With starting field position at the Chiefs twenty-yard line, Lawrence eventually hooked up with Travis Etienne on a 9-yard touchdown reception.

Etienne never fully got on track on four rushing attempts, gaining just three yards, but the primary takeaway should be that on their opening pair of possessions, Etienne was the primary focus. Lawrence's longest completion of the night came on a 20-yard dig route to newcomer Gabe Davis. To the delight of Jaguars fans, the rookie Brian Thomas Jr got in on the action with a 41-yard reception over Joshua Williams with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter, his 4.3 40-yard dash speed on full display.

The combination of Davis, Thomas and utilizing Etienne in passing routes should provide a potent recipe resulting in more offensive production overall.

Other offensive notables, Luke Farrell had a nice catch on a bootleg, and although he didn't show up statistically in the box score, the mere presence of Christian Kirk lined up in the slot was reassuring. Over 70% of Kirk's routes in 2023 came from the slot position. Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson each had quality runs.

On the defensive side of the ball, Trevis Gipson set the tone early with multiple tackles, and Esezi Otomewo registered 1.5 sacks, a promising sign. It was the final day of last August when Otomewo was signed to the practice squad. If Esezi can continue to develop in the DL rotation that will be an added plus.

In the secondary, De'Antre Prince had an impressive debut as one of the highly touted rookies vying for a roster spot which might come on special teams.

Overall Jacksonville did a solid job in the early stages keeping the Chiefs off the field. K.C.'s opening four drives only combined for seventeen total plays.