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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid talked about backup quarterback Nick Foles "knocking the rust off" with his performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Foles, making his first start with the Chiefs, did not agree with his coach's assessment after the 19-14 victory.
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"I wouldn't say rust," said Foles, who signed with Kansas City in early August after he sought and got his release from the Los Angeles Rams. "It's been a little while, but I wouldn't call it rust. I'd like to be perfect and make every play. There's throws I should have hit and different looks I should have capitalized on. At the end of the day, we got the win."
Reid drafted Foles out of the University of Arizona in 2012 when he was head coach and the man in charge of the Philadelphia Eagles. He knows the lanky passer well and had no concerns going into the game about Foles stepping in for starter Alex Smith.
"I thought there were some good things there and there were some things he would like to have back," Reid said of Foles' performance on Sunday. "A couple of those sacks he would surely like to have back, but those are bang-bang decisions. It was a great learning experience for him getting in there and kind of knocking the rust off.
"It's hard to knock the rust off in game eight. That's a tough thing. We are lucky to have him here."
Foles completed 20 of 33 passes for 187 yards with one touchdown, but he did not have an interception or commit a fumble. In the first half, he was definitely rusty, but looked good hitting a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Albert Wilson.
"It was not always the prettiest thing," Foles said. "The game of football is different every week and every time you play the game. Sometimes you go out and light it up and sometimes you go out there just scraping around, trying to get your feet under you."
Smith will return to handle the starter's job against Carolina after going through the week showing no after-effects of the two blows to the head he suffered on Oct. 30 against Indianapolis.
"I'm excited he's healthy and ready to go," Foles said. "I've really enjoyed being around Alex, being here and learning. I'm excited he's ready to roll."
REPORT CARD VS. JACKSONVILLE
PASSING OFFENSE: C -- With Alex Smith out of action against the Jaguars, Nick Foles stepped in and the most impressive part of his performance was the lack of turnovers. He did not throw an interception and did not lose a fumble. That's about the only element of the passing game where Foles showed he could do what Smith does in running Kansas City's offensive scheme. He completed 61 percent of his throws for an average gain per attempt of just 5.7 yards. Foles did connect with wide receiver Albert Wilson on a nice 23-yard touchdown play, but he was definitely rusty.
RUSHING OFFENSE: D -- No Jamaal Charles plus no Spencer Ware plus no Smith running out of the pocket equaled no running game for the Chiefs against Jacksonville. They had just 62 yards on 22 carries, a paltry 2.8-yard average. Of that rushing total, almost half (30) came on two runs by Charcandrick West and Tyreek Hill. Jacksonville entered the game among the bottom-six run defenses in the league, but they crushed the hobbling Chiefs ground scheme.
PASS DEFENSE: C -- Jacksonville's Blake Bortles threw 41 passes against the Chiefs, completing 22, including a pair of touchdown passes. The Chiefs' pass rush got him on the ground twice and flushed him from the pocket six times. The problem for Kansas City was Bortles gained 54 yards on those half-dozen runs. Linebacker Ramik Wilson had an interception on a poorly thrown pass by Bortles. Outside linebacker Dee Ford had two more sacks.
RUSH DEFENSE: F -- Going into the game, Jacksonville had the No. 30 running game among the NFL's 32 teams. But the Jaguars ran over, through and around the Chiefs' defense all day. Kansas City gave up an average of 6.4 yards on every rush (205 yards on 32 carries) and Chris Ivory ran for 107 yards on 18 carries, a 5.9-yard average.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A -- The only saving grace for the Chiefs against the Jaguars came in the kicking game. Topping it all was kicker Cairo Santos, who hit all four of his field goal attempts, including one from 51 yards. Punter Dustin Colquitt had a 50.4-yard average on his seven punts, including a 59-yard boot that forced Jacksonville to handle a long field in its final possession of the game. The punt coverage unit forced a fumble that set up Kansas City's only touchdown. Tyreek Hill had a 36-yard punt return and a 26-yard kickoff return. The only stumble in coverage was giving up a 45-yard kickoff return.
COACHING: C -- Considering the talent missing from the active roster for Sunday's game, Andy Reid and his staff deserve a hardy slap on the back for directing the club's fourth consecutive victory. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton will have to go back to the drawing board after his group gave up 449 yards. But in what has been the signature of this season's defense, they bent but did not break, allowing only 14 points.
