By Zachary Howell

Copyright clutchpoints

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense came up clutch in a 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Devin Lloyd intercepted Patrick Mahomes on the doorstep to the end zone and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. That play proved to be the difference for Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen as he lead his team to its fourth win of the season.
While Coen’s offense has been as good as ever, his defense has struggled this year. The Jaguars were without former No. 1 pick Travon Walker on the defensive line thanks to an injury. Because of his absence, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes did not have to contend with much pressure as he led Kansas City’s offense up and down the field.
Being 4-1 is great, but Coen has some things to work on. Jacksonville’s coach spoke with Sports Illustrated’s John Shipley about the game, offering his assessment of the defense. According to him, the coach appreciated his team’s effort but thought they could have done more to contain Mahomes.
“Yeah, I don’t think we were great. I do think we were at times effective,” Coen said. “The frustrating thing was we let him get out too many times. I do think that there was some moments like when we were able to pressure him, I think we were able to get a little bit more. But I did think Smoot [DE Dawuane Smoot] was active in the rush. I thought he might have got grabbed a few times when he had maybe some clear lanes to the quarterback or he was going to go make a play. I do think they played their tails off up front. We just didn’t really affect him maybe as much as we would’ve liked to going into the plan.”
Walker will be back on the field soon as the Jaguars try to maintain their momentum. If the defense can complement the other side of the ball, Coen’s squad has a chance to do some damage.