Kansas City Chiefs fans already had plenty of motivation to be as loud as possible with a spot in the AFC Championship on the line Saturday, but now they have a point to prove.
Chiefs fans are fired up after a quote from Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who downplayed the crowd noise at Arrowhead Stadium, went viral on Wednesday.
Trevor Lawrence said: "I can't imagine Arrowhead Stadium will be much louder than Jacksonville last Saturday" 🤔pic.twitter.com/EKk7MAGjhb
— Brad Henson Productions (@BradHensonPro) January 18, 2023
“Obviously, the environment and atmosphere we’re going to play in is one of if not the best in the NFL,” Lawrence told reporters Tuesday. “I can’t imagine it will be much louder than our fans were here on Saturday, honestly, but that was when we were on defense, not offense. We played there earlier in the year, but this is a little bit different. It’s a playoff game, Divisional Round, so the stakes are higher. So I expect them to be even crazier, more packed stadium.”
It’s hardly that much of an inflammatory quote, but Chiefs fans take their crowd noise seriously. The suggestion that TIAA Bank Field could even approach their volume level rubbed many Kansas City faithful the wrong way.
70K Drunk Chiefs fans who have been drinking since 7am in the parking lot pic.twitter.com/IELda9cUmG
— #GlobeEarther 🌎 (@Bsmith_KCMO) January 18, 2023
Chiefs fans broke the world record for crowd noise in 2014 when an adjudicator from Guinness World Records recorded Arrowhead Stadium at 142.2 decibels during a Monday Night Football game.
No decibel total was recorded to measure how loud the more than 70,000 fans in Jacksonville got on Saturday. It was, however, definitely not quiet.
The final Chargers drive.
The Bank was rocking Saturday, what a game to end the home slate. 📢#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/uAJu32mPAj
— Andrew Badillo (@andrewbadillo99) January 16, 2023
As loud as Kansas City? Almost definitely not. Lawrence will get to find out if the difference is as negligible as he suggested it might be.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t underestimating Chiefs fans, though.
“Nothing prepares you for that,” Pederson said Tuesday. “I can turn the noise here as loud as I want, and it’s not going to make an impact, but it’s loud for them, it’s loud for their defense, and we both have to play in it, obviously. It’s a great atmosphere, and these fans are passionate about the Chiefs, obviously, and it’s the loudest for a reason.”
The Jaguars played the Chiefs in Week 10 and lost, 27-17. Jacksonville picked up five penalties in the loss, but none were for false start.
