JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Just five games into the season, the Kansas City Chiefs have experienced the outcome of what occurs when you don't make the game-winning play in the final minutes.
Monday's 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the most crushing this season for Kansas City coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and pass rusher Chris Jones.
Despite Mahomes' heroics in leading the offense to a late touchdown that gave the Chiefs a four-point lead, the defense couldn't stop Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence from engineering a game-winning drive that culminated in his 1-yard rush into the end zone in the final minute.
"Obviously, it sucks," Mahomes said. "You let a game slip away. It still sucks whenever you get a lead and you're not able to hold it."
Each of the Chiefs' three defeats have come with one-score outcomes. Last season, as they were attempting to become the first NFL team in the Super Bowl era to accomplish a three-peat, the Chiefs won 11 one-score games, the most in a single campaign in the league's history.
"We have the guys and we've executed at certain points in games and looked really good, but we crush ourselves with penalties and mistakes," Mahomes said. "We've done that to ourselves all season long. It's been one guy here or there. In this league, it's so close that those [moments] change games.
"We've got to be better. We've lost too many games already."
On the Jaguars' final drive, Lawrence handled the Chiefs' blitz well, throwing a perfect pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a 33-yard gain with the ball placed just above of the outstretched arm of cornerback Jaylen Watson.
When the Chiefs had proper coverage, Lawrence countered by using his legs to gain chunks of yards. Even when Lawrence stumbled under center, with the Jaguars at the 1-yard line, he was still able to get up and scamper across the goal line for the winning score.
"I thought multiple times we had him," Jones said of Lawrence. "We've just got to finish. Us, as a defensive line, we've got to be more disciplined on our rush lanes. We let Trevor get out multiple times, especially in the red zone. That's on the D-line. We've got to be cognizant on our gaps. I take that personal, the containment of the quarterback."
Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs' longtime defensive coordinator, often didn't put a spy defender on Lawrence, who did just enough with his legs to make the Chiefs' pay. Lawrence, who is not known for his speed or scrambling ability, scrambled to run a career-high eight times, according to Next Gen Stats. He entered Monday's game with just four scramble rushing touchdowns in his five-year career.
When the Jaguars executed a designed running play, often for running back Travis Etienne Jr., they averaged just 3.1 yards per attempt. Lawrence, however, led the Jaguars with 53 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
"He can build up speed in a hurry, especially if he goes right down the middle of the defense," Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton said of Lawrence. "We definitely mentioned it [in preparation last week]. We knew he could use his legs."
Reid and just about every player in the Chiefs' locker room mentioned one factor that led to the loss: penalties. In an uncharacteristic manner, Kansas City committed 13 penalties (the franchise's most since November 2018) for 103 yards (the most since December 2019).
Early in the second quarter, the Chiefs held a 14-point lead and were one more successful play on defense from forcing Jacksonville to punt the ball back to them. But on third-and-15, Watson committed a pass interference penalty while attempting to cover Thomas.
"I've just got to play better and not leave it in the ref's hands," Watson said. "Anytime the defense has a chance to go win the game, we want to win the game. It's a bad feeling."
On the same drive, the Chiefs nearly had an interception. Lawrence's intermediate pass was behind wideout Tim Patrick, resulting in the ball being touched in succession by cornerback Trent McDuffie, Bolton and linebacker Drue Tranquill. Seven plays later, Lawrence found wide receiver Parker Washington in the end zone for a 3-yard strike.
"The ball bounced the wrong way," Bolton said. "It bumped off of me and Drue's hands. We just have to find a way to catch that ball. That would've stopped seven points, kept them at zero and our offense having the ball to go score. We definitely gave them life a little bit when I dropped that interception."
The Chiefs' final penalty was one the defense couldn't overcome.
With the Jaguars 14 yards away from pay dirt with 38 second left, Lawrence targeted Thomas in the end zone. Safety Chamarri Conner, who was unable to turn his head toward the ball in time, was flagged for pass interference, giving the Jaguars the ball at the 1-yard line and setting up Lawrence's touchdown run.
"That's what hurts a lot," Kansas City linebacker Leo Chenal said of the defense's failures. "We've established that trust where the offense can lean on us in those [late-game] moments. It really hurts that we didn't hold up our end. Every single guy feels it."