The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense will have to find an answer for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Doing so could be the difference between winning and losing this game.
In last week’s game against Baltimore, Worthy returned to the Chiefs’ offensive lineup after being sidelined with an injury, and things looked completely different for that unit.
Worthy was targeted often, catching five passes for 83 yards. He also had two rush attempts for 38 yards, per PFF.
Beyond Worthy’s ability to fill up his own column on the stat sheet, the 4.21 speed he possesses opens up the rest of the offense for other Chiefs playmakers.
“I would really not encourage anyone to watch the first three Chiefs’ games on tape because it was so different last week with Xavier Worthy back,” said ESPN’s Nate Taylor, via Jaguars.com. “This is now the version of the Chiefs that they have been practicing with since OTAs and training camp.
“The speed element opens things up so much for tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, and the guys who are going to work the middle of the field. You don’t have to be so reliant on Mahomes to be a superhero in terms of creating those highlight-worthy plays.”
With Worthy in the lineup last week, the Chiefs’ offense would put up 37 points against Baltimore. Getting into a high-scoring matchup with Patrick Mahomes likely isn’t a recipe for success.
When it comes to containing Worthy and the rest of the Chiefs’ offense, well, that’s easier said than done. The emphasis from the Jaguars‘ defense will have to be on keeping everything in front of them, along with each defender being very disciplined with their responsibilities.
Overextending and trying to do too much is when voids in a defense can be created for the offense to take advantage of.
“He’s got elite speed,” Anthony Campanile said of Worthy. “He’s a special player as well. Really I think he’s a good route runner and I know he got banged up early in the year, so he adds a whole another dimension to them. When he came back and he obviously makes it difficult.”
Worthy is on this week’s injury report with a shoulder, but has been a full participant in each of the first two practices.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars vs. Chiefs: Key X-factor for Week 5 matchup
