After taking the Cowboys to overtime and beating the Redskins the Chiefs thought they were on the right path and were finally gaining some momentum on their season. The next week Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers came in to town and put a end to that with a 37-7 confidence shattering victory over the Chiefs. Looking to get the season back on track and erase the memory of the Chargers game the Chiefs wanted to use the bye week as a opportunity to see where they can improve and get some practices in to further gel as a team but the two weeks since the Chargers game has been anything but productive.

First L.J. took to his twitter account after the Chargers game to call in to question the qualifications of his head coach who has a extensive golf background, then the next day L.J. spouted out two homophobic slurs one addressed at one of his followers on twitter another addressed at the media. All of these actions combined led to Johnson being suspended for the Jaguars game and being fined over 300,000 dollars. The question remains what the Chiefs will do after the one game suspension is up the Chiefs do have several options the could deactivate Johnson for the season, they could grant him his outright release (not likely since the Chiefs do not want to set the precedent of players talking their way off the team) or the Chiefs could reinstate Johnson back in to the lineup….. Also unlikely.

The actions of L.J. set off a butterfly effect of events at Arrowhead, it cleared the door for Kolby Smith’s return after spending the first six weeks of the season on the PUP list and also created Sign Gate. Sign gate is what I am calling Todd Haley’s decision after the L.J. outburst to put a sign up in the Chiefs Hallway outside their locker room that reads “Losers assemble in small groups and complain about the coaches and other players. Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win.” Todd Haley is sticking to his guns saying the sign is not related to the L.J. incident and was supposed to be put up weeks before. From a outsiders perspective it sure does look like a embarrassed coaching and management staff taking a shot at any player who is not buying in 100% to their vision for this team.

Meanwhile the Chiefs still have a game to play this Sunday against the Jaguars and if they can find a way to put the distractions behind them they may be playing Jacksonville at the right time. Last week the Jaguars lost convincingly to the previously winless Titans 30-13 with running back Chris Johnson piling up over 200 yards on the ground against their 25th ranked rush defense. The Chiefs chances at the playoffs have been over for weeks as for the Jaguars they are still in the mix but at 3-4 the jaguars would have to get a victory against Kansas City to stay in the hunt. The Jaguars backs are against the wall which will make for a tough game Sunday for K.C..

Keys to the Game

1. Contain MJD: Last week Maurice Jones-Drew went for over 150 yards on eight carries including runs of 79 and 80 yards, Jones- Drew is one of the most dangerous and elusive backs in the NFL if he goes off again like he did last week the Chiefs will be in for a long day. Second year player De Juan Morgan will be a key in this game MJD will likely be in the Chiefs backfield at some point in the game and with Jarrod Page out for the year with a injury this will be Morgan’s opportunity to step up and shine and be a more consistent tackler than Page.

2. Get Charles involved: Last year the Jamaal Charles had a game in which he rushed for over 100 yards and a game in which he had over 100 yards receiving, this season Charles has been used sparingly and has ran the ball mostly on passing downs out of passing formations. That should change this week as Charles should see the bulk of the action since this will be Kolby Smith’s first week back, the Chiefs need to be smart with Charles run him out side and get some passes going in his direction. The Jaguars already proved last week they are susceptible to running backs with speed, the chiefs need to copy what the Titans did with Chris Johnson against the Jags.

3. Push the ball down the field: Through seven games this season the Chiefs offense has been far too conservative to scare any defense, when they run it’s usually right up the middle and when they pass mostly because of poor pass protection it is a short pass of some sort. If the Chiefs are going to start to get on a roll this season it has to start with pass protection so that Matt Cassel can have the time to get the ball deep down the field, with Cassel unable to push the ball down the field defenders are able to cheat up towards the line since they don’t have to guard the whole field which adversely affects everything including the running game.

Injury Report:

Chiefs:

Jon McGraw S Thigh Doubtful

Mike Goff G Shoulder Questionable

Branden Albert T Ankle Probable

Rudy Niswanger C Knee Probable

Mike Richardson CB Illness Probable

Jaguars:

Scott Starks CB Hamstring Out

Rashean Mathis CB Finger Probable

Brian Witherspoon CB Hamstring Probable

Maurice Williams G Knee Probable

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Weather Report: Weather at kickoff will be 77 degrees with a 15 MPH east north easterly breeze

Final Score: Chiefs 16 Jaguars 27

This one is pretty simple even though the Jags will have less than 40,000 in attendance it is a home game and they have something to play for, the Chiefs will be debuting a new free safety and running back along with trying to shake the L.J. distraction of the past two weeks. In the end the Jags just have more talent up front and will prove to be too much for the Chiefs.