Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs AFC Divisional Round Betting Preview

In a rematch of a Week 10 regular season game, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars ride the momentum of their huge comeback win in the Wild Card into this week’s game against the Chiefs.

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The Jacksonville Comeback

It defies all logic that the Jacksonville Jaguars are still alive in the AFC Playoffs. They fell behind 27-0 in the first half of last Saturday’s game against the Chargers because Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions.

But amazingly, the second-year quarterback turned things around, and on his next four possessions, he led the team on four consecutive touchdown drives. On the fifth drive, he led the team to the game-winning field goal, finishing off what was the third-biggest comeback in playoff history.

From a bust a year ago at the hands of first-year head coach Urban Meyer, to one of the elite talents in the league under this year’s head coach, Doug Pederson. That is the route taken by Lawrence to this weekend’s Divisional Round game in Kansas City. The can’t-miss prospect is once again the talk of the quarterback world, and the Jaguars are now one game away from a return to the AFC Championship Game.

Mahomes Magic

For the Chiefs, they are looking for a fifth straight appearance in the AFC Championship Game. Before they began their streak in 2018, the Jaguars were in the AFCCG in 2017. Patrick Mahomes has never started a season in which he didn’t end it with a chance to play in the Super Bowl.

Mahomes also knows a thing or two about comebacks in the playoffs. In 2019, the year Kansas City went on to win the Super Bowl, their playoff run began with a 24-0 deficit at the hands of the Houston Texans. But like Lawrence, Mahomes is a special talent. The MVP in 2018 and MVP favorite this year, came back against the Texans, he came back against the Titans in the AFC Championship Game, and then came back against the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

What that tells us is that no matter the halftime score in this Divisional Round game on Saturday, it isn’t over. With these two quarterbacks, it’s never over until the final whistle blows.

Jaguars vs. Chiefs Matchup

Kansas City is favored by 9.5 points, and when you consider that they beat the Jaguars by 10 points at Arrowhead Stadium in the regular season, it makes sense. But that game was the turning point for Lawrence and the Jaguar's offense, and a different team is coming to Kansas City this weekend.

In the first 10 games of the season, ending with that loss to the Chiefs, Jacksonville averaged 21 points per game. Since then, they are averaging 27 points per game. Lawrence had 13 touchdown passes in those first 10 games. In the eight games since, he has 16.

But of course, this is the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, and Andy Reid coming off a bye. He is 21-3 when he has an extra week to prepare for an opponent.