By Chiefs Community & Digital Media Producer
It’s finally here.
Two-hundred-and-thirty-two days have passed since the Kansas City Chiefs last took the field in a game that counted, falling by the narrowest of margins to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game last January.
It marked the conclusion of a truly magical season, ending just inches away from a berth in the Super Bowl while giving way to one of the most anticipated campaigns in franchise history.
Months of patient excitement have followed since that chilly night at Arrowhead, and as the clock strikes noon on Sunday, the wait is officially over.
That season-opening clash will pit the Chiefs against the Jacksonville Jaguars – an interesting team shrouded in unknowns. Just two years removed from a spot in the AFC Championship Game themselves behind a tenacious defense, the Jaguars underwent some major changes offensively this offseason and are a relative mystery in terms of how they’ll go about moving the ball.
Those changes include the hiring of former Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator John DeFilippo to handle play-calling duties and the acquisition of quarterback Nick Foles after two wildly successful years serving as the backup in Philadelphia.
And because Foles only attempted 10 passes during the preseason, there’s simply not much tape out there of the veteran quarterback in a Jaguars’ uniform.
“The defensive coaches have gone through and looked at [everything], but you have to cut it down,” said Head Coach Andy Reid. “There are going to be things that you haven’t seen [where] you just have to trust your fundamentals, technique, scheme and rules. They’ve looked at all of that.”
Foles – who appeared in three games for Kansas City in 2015 and actually entered the league under Reid in Philadelphia back in 2012 – was thrust into action two years ago following an injury to Eagles’ starter Carson Wentz and went on to lead Philadelphia to a championship in Super Bowl LII. It’s worth mentioning that DeFilippo was Foles’ quarterbacks’ coach during that incredible campaign.
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