Chiefs beat Jaguars as Mahomes throws for 4 TDs; Smith-Schuster in concussion protocol

Sunday’s first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars provided “firsts” for a trio of Chiefs players.

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney scored his first career touchdown; wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling notched his first touchdown in a Chiefs uniform; and tight end Noah Gray recorded his first touchdown of the season.

The Chiefs rode the strength of those three first-half scores to a 27-17 win over the Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Good game to get,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “(Jaguars coach) Doug’s (Pederson) done a really nice job with this crew. I know he’s got this young quarterback that he’s developing, I know they’ll continue to get better down the road. They gave us all we could handle there and it ended up being a good game.”

Toney got it started early with a 6-yard touchdown and showed some athleticism on his way to the end zone, hop-hop-hopping just inbounds along the sideline. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes found Toney all alone on the right side of the field, and Toney’s momentum almost carried him out of bounds.

“The reason I was hopping was because I was too close to the sideline when I caught it, and I was just excited,” Toney said. “I saw the sideline, ‘Oh, I’ve got to hop, I’ve got to get in there somehow, some way.’”

The second-year pro’s touchdown finished a five-play, 80-yard drive that also featured Mahomes finding tight end Travis Kelce for a 46-yard gain.

Making Toney’s touchdown even noteworthy? He wasn’t the primary read on the play as Mahomes went through the progressions.

“It’s obviously in the play design, but it’s probably like the fifth read,” Mahomes explained. “So he was kind of the distraction guy, trying to kind of bring guys over, and I wanted to kind of go flat to the stick route to the over to Kelce, and I heard him yelling.

“I was like, ‘Man, who’s yelling at me?’ I looked over and he’s wide open. He was like the last read on that play, but in this offense that last read might be open sometimes, so you have to stay ready for it.”

Two possessions later, Mahomes found Valdes-Scantling, who joined the Chiefs during free agency this offseason, for an 18-yard touchdown. Gray joined the touchdown party in the second quarter on a 13-yard catch.

Mahomes connected with Kelce for a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter to effectively put the game out of reach for the Jaguars. The Chiefs’ star quarterback finished the game 26 of 35 for 331 yards and four touchdowns with one interception for a 129.6 passer rating.

Mahomes, who made his 72nd career start Sunday, entered the game with 172 career touchdown passes. With four more against the Jaguars, Mahomes now has 176 career touchdown passes, a mark that eases him past Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (173) for the most through 75 starts.

The Chiefs totaled 486 yards of offense, ran 62 plays and averaged 7.8 yards per play against the Jaguars.

Defensively, meanwhile, the Chiefs made sure the Jaguars’ offense wouldn’t get going.

And it started on Jacksonville’s first drive when safety Juan Thornhill defended a downfield pass and rookie defensive end George Karlaftis knocked down one of Lawrence’s throws at the line of scrimmage to force a punt.

Jacksonville’s ground attack entered the weekend ranked seventh in the league, averaging 146.8 yards per game. Running back Travis Etienne had been on a roll, having rushed for 379 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games. But he found the going tough against the Chiefs.

Kansas City’s run defense, which ranked fifth in the league, swarmed Etienne and didn’t let him get loose. Etienne finished with 45 yards on 11 carries.

The Chiefs’ defense also harassed Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence throughout the game, totaling five sacks and six quarterback hits. Defensive tackle Chris Jones led the sack party with 1.5, while rookie Leo Chenal recorded his first career sack.

“All in all, it was a good game,” Reid said. “We’ve got plenty of things to work on that we need to clean up, a few too many mistakes, but it’s not easy to win in the National Football League. So, we cherish each one of these as we go.”

The Chiefs improved to 7-2 ahead of Week 11’s flexed-into-prime-time game next Sunday against the L.A. Chargers.

Here’s what else stood out Sunday afternoon:

DUNLAP MAKES HISTORY

Defensive end Carols Dunlap signed a free-agent deal with the Chiefs during training camp. He arrived with 96 career sacks, leaving him four shy of the historic century mark.

Dunlap, who entered Sunday’s game with 3.5 sacks this season, can now put that notch on his belt.

In the first quarter, he and Jones converged in the backfield on Lawrence and dropped the Jaguars QB for a 9-yard loss. The split sack gave Dunlap exactly 100 in his career; he becomes the 41st player (since sacks became an official NFL stat in 1982) to record 100 or more career sacks.

“To be able to get that accomplished is a huge milestone and an accomplishment that as a young player coming into the league, that was a goal,” Dunlap said. “Play 10-plus years, getting 100-plus sacks, to be in that elite category with the guys who have ever done it.

“To get that done today and to share it with a guy (Jones) who has potential to be up there as well was a very special moment.”

Dunlap’s milestone drew praise from his head coach.

“My hat goes out to him,” Reid said. “That’s a lot of football to get you in those numbers. He’s done a nice job here with it.”

TONEY IMPRESSES

Toney totaled just nine offensive snaps in Week 9, which marked his debut after the Chiefs traded for him during the bye. He recorded two catches for 12 yards in Week 9.

Just a week later, the Chiefs made sure to get him more involved. In addition to his first-quarter touchdown, Toney recorded four catches for 57 yards, 33 yards rushing on two carries and two punt returns for 11 yards.

The Chiefs relied more heavily on Toney Sunday because wide receiver Mecole Hardman was inactive.

SPECIAL TEAMS MISCUES

Last week, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker admitted he isn’t 100% healed from the sprained left ankle he suffered at Arizona in the season opener.

Butker’s admission came on the heels of a missed field goal and extra point in Week 9. He missed another extra point in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars.

The Chiefs won’t likely make any drastic changes, though. Butker is regarded as one of the NFL’s best kickers.

Meanwhile, tight end Jody Fortson fumbled a kickoff return late in the second quarter. Fortson’s turnover put the Jaguars in scoring position, but they failed to take advantage of the miscue by botching a field goal.

CEH’s DISAPPEARING ACT

The Chiefs shook up their backfield in Week 7, preferring rookie Isiah Pacheco as the starter over Clyde Edwards-Helaire before the Week 8 bye.

Three games into the experiment, there should be no doubt about No. 1 going forward.

Pacheco got the start again against Jacksonville, totaling 82 yards on 16 carries. Edwards-Helaire, meanwhile, finished the game with no carries. He was targeted twice but didn’t record a catch.

As a team, the Chiefs pounded out 155 yards rushing on 27 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt.

“Pacheco had a good game today running the football,” Reid said.

REID IMPROVES MARK VS. FORMER ASSISTANTS

Reid continued his mastery over former assistants, this time is was Pederson’s turn.

With Sunday’s win, Reid is now 18-9 against his former staffers.

Pederson has been with Reid on and off since the mid-1990s as either a player or assistant, most recently as Chiefs offensive coordinator from 2013-15. Pederson is now 0-2 agaisnt Reid as a head coach.

improved his record against former assistants to 18-9. Pederson served as the Chiefs offe

INJURIES

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster left midway through the second quarter after getting leveled by Jaguars safety Andre Cisco. Smith-Shuster was on the ground for a few minutes before he was able to get off field with arms wrapped around teammates. Athletic trainers took him straight to the locker room, and the team later placed him the concussion protocol and ruled him out for the remainder of the afternoon.

In other injury news, cornerback Chris Lammons entered the concussion protocol in the second quarter was later ruled out. And right tackle Andew Wylie suffered a right-elbow injury in the second quarter and did not return. Prince Tega Wanogho filled in for Wylie.

NOT SUITED UP

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman (abdomen), running back Ronald Jones, quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, rookie offensive lineman Darian Kinnard and rookie defensive back Nazeeh Johnson did not play.

UP NEXT

The Chiefs travel to Los Angeles in Week 11 to take on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.