Our Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs prediction takes a look at the Divisional Round matchup that promises to be a high-scoring affair. Let’s dive into the current NFL betting odds, key storylines to watch, and make a prediction for the game. Note that all odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Monday, Jan. 16.

Jaguars vs. Chiefs Odds | Divisional Round

Spread
Chiefs -8.5

Moneyline
Chiefs -425, Jaguars +340

Over/Under
51.5 points

Jaguars vs. Chiefs Matchups

The 2022-2023 Jaguars will forever have their names etched in the history books after their epic comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round. Trevor Lawrence, Doug Pederson, and Co. were able to overcome a 27-point deficit, which will go down as the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history.

Nothing could go right for the Jaguars in the first half of last week’s game, but they persevered and were able to take down an incredibly talented team on a last-second field goal to advance to the Divisional Round. Their reward? Facing the No. 1 seed in the AFC off a week’s rest.

These two teams faced off earlier this season on Nov. 13, and the Chiefs were able to walk away with a 27-17 victory and hand the Jaguars their seventh loss on the season in the process. At that point, Jacksonville had just three wins. We know that they’re a much different team than they were at that point.

The key for Jacksonville winning this game is going to come down to their offense taking care of the football and winning the turnover battle. The Chiefs are going to put points up on the board, but if the Jaguars can avoid the turnovers — like they had last week — and control the clock, there’s a chance that the magic continues for this young football team.

Kansas City Strong Favorites

As for Kansas City, the last time we saw them, they were playing ring around the Rosie and pummeling their division rival, the Las Vegas Raiders. They were able to avoid the chaos of Wild Card Weekend, and they’ll come into this game well-rested and ready to make a deep postseason push.

Based on the results from their matchup earlier this season — where Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception — it seems like a foregone conclusion that Kansas City will be moving on to play in the AFC Championship Game.

However, this Jaguars defense has tightened things up recently and is playing at a much higher level than what they were back in November. The pass rush is consistently creating pressure, and they’ve only given up an average of 16.3 points per game over their last three outings.

The key for Kansas City to win this playoff matchup against a surging Jaguars team is to not overlook their opponent. On paper, the Chiefs are the more talented team, and it would be easy to assume that they’ll easily win this game and move on to the next round.

However, Jacksonville has proven to multiple opponents already this season that that’s a dangerous strategy. If Mahomes and Co. can come out properly motivated and look to take care of business, Jacksonville might not have much of a chance. If they come out already assuming that this game is in hand, though, we could see a major upset here in the Divisional Round.

Jaguars vs. Chiefs Score Prediction
Chiefs 28, Jaguars 21