There’s a specific kind of dread that settles in when you realize you’re trapped in a loop. For the Jaguars, that loop is colored red and gold, and it’s lasted for 8 straight games. 8 consecutive losses to the Chiefs. It’s a stat that feels less like a trend and more like a haunting, a ghost that shows up on the schedule every year to remind Duval County that some mountains are just harder to climb. The Jags are 3-1, playing their best ball in recent memory. This Monday night should feel different.

Look, Andy Reid isn’t exactly strolling into this matchup with a perfectly healthy roster, either. The Chiefs have their own troubles brewing in the trenches. DE Mike Danna, a reliable rotational piece with 2 Super Bowl rings and 20.5 career sacks, is questionable with a quadriceps issue. On the other side of the ball, cornerback Kristian Fulton, a journeyman who posted a respectable 71.1 PFF grade with the Chargers last season, is nursing a tender ankle.

These aren’t minor concerns. Losing Danna thins out the pass rush, and a hobbled Fulton, who has 5 career INTs, creates a potential soft spot for Trevor Lawrence to target.

The stats paint a picture of 2 teams separated by the thinnest of margins. The Chiefs score 24.3 points per game; the Jags score 24.0. The Chiefs allow 19 points per game; the Jags allow 18. Just as the Jaguars looked poised to finally break the curse under the prime-time lights, the injury report dropped.

Troubling update for Coen’s Jags

The word from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is that star pass rusher Travon Walker is officially “week-to-week” after consulting a specialist for his wrist. For a team trying to recover from a decade-long losing streak against this very opponent, losing its top defensive end is devastating.

This is the man who set a franchise record for sacks in his first three years, racking up a staggering 20.5 sacks over the last two seasons alone. Walker isn’t just a guy on the line; he’s an engine. With 13 pressures and 2 sacks already logged this season, he represents Jacksonville’s best shot at making Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable.

Without him, the task falls on Emmanuel Ogbah and Dawuane Smoot to somehow contain a quarterback who, even on an off day, is a walking cheat code. It’s a nightmare scenario for Jacksonville’s D-line.

Can the Jaguars survive it? Maybe. Their ground game has been cooking, a bruising machine that churns out 144 yards a game, good for 4th in the league. Travis Etienne Jr. is on a tear with 394 rushing yards and a blistering 6.1 yards per carry.

Control the clock, pound the rock with Etienne, and keep Mahomes and his 939 passing yards on the sideline. But that formula depends on a defense that can get a key stop. Can they do that without their best disruptor and with Reid’s playbook in place?

That’s the question hanging over EverBank Stadium. As Mahomes is up with a concerning trend. This Monday night was supposed to be at least a fair fight. Instead, it feels like another chapter in that same old story. Liam Coen is facing a nightmare, and the only way out is to somehow slay the monster with one hand tied behind his back.