Kansas City, Mo. ? For 3 1/2 quarters, Kansas City’s shaky defense mostly made good on its vow to cut down on long gainers. Jacksonville needed just a few minutes to change that.

On consecutive plays in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars produced a team-record 79-yard touchdown pass and a 63-yard scoring run to beat the Chiefs 23-16 Sunday.

Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor (28) breaks away from Kansas City linebacker Marvcus Patton (53) on his way to a 63-yard run for what proved to be the winning touchdown as Jaguars lineman John Wade (66) celebrates. The Chiefs lost in their home opener against Jacksonville, 23-16, Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.

“We knew that was going to be the way we took our shots,” said Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin. “We pointed toward the fourth quarter. We were picking and picking and picking, and then we made a couple of big plays.”

The Chiefs, who gave up more than 400 yards in a 1-point victory at Cleveland the week before, tied the game at 9-all on Morten Andersen’s third field goal with just under 7 minutes to play.

A moment later, Patrick Johnson took Mark Brunell’s pass at the 40, shook off one tackler, outran another and went 79 yards for the tie-breaking touchdown.

After the Chiefs punted, the Jaguars added what proved the winning touchdown on their next play. Fred Taylor burst through a gaping hole and sped 63 yards to the end zone.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Chiefs defensive end Rich Owens said. “I didn’t think the play was going to do much. Then I look up and he’s banging his head on the goal post. We hold them to just nine points. And then on two plays in the fourth quarter, it all blows up on us.”

Taylor, who missed almost all last year with a groin injury, had 114 yards on 20 carries for the rebuilding Jaguars (1-1), who had lost 11 of their last 15 games.

“I just kept trying to pound away and pound away, and finally things just broke open for me,” he said.

The Chiefs (1-1) pulled within a touchdown on Trent Green’s 12-yard TD pass to Tony Gonzalez with 2:35 left.

The catch, which capped an 80-yard drive that took up just 34 seconds, initially was ruled incomplete. But the Chiefs asked for a review and officials decided Donovin Darius had pushed Gonzalez out of bounds in the back of the end zone.

But Brunell and Taylor, who picked up four yards on third and two on their final possession, made sure Kansas City never touched the ball again.

“It was a big win,” said Brunell, who was 25-of-36 for 320 yards and two TDs. “I don’t know if our young players really understand what this win means.”

Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell (8) looks to hand off while Kansas City defensive tackle Eddie Freeman, center, moves in. The Jags won, 23-16, on Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.

On the record-long pass to Johnson, cornerback Eric Warfield missed a tackle near the 50, then safety Jason Belser gave chase down the sideline, missing a tackle at Johnson’s ankles at about the 30.

“There was no way he was going to catch me,” Johnson said. “If he would have had a higher angle, I would have cut back on him.”

Gonzalez’s TD was the first sign of offensive life by the Chiefs in the second half after they’d moved the ball almost at will on their first two possessions. But each time they had to settle for field goals.

The Chiefs took 8:38 off the clock longer than any of their possessions in 2001 on a nearly flawless 15-play drive the first time they had the ball. But the drive stalled on the 7 and Andersen kicked a 25-yarder.

On their second possession, they kept the ball almost 412 minutes but were stopped at the 19, and Andersen made it 6-0 with a 38-yarder.

The Jaguars tied it at 6-all in the second quarter after Marlon McCree intercepted Green’s poorly thrown pass at the Jacksonville 44.

The drive almost stalled. But Brunell hit Jimmy Smith on fourth-and-5 from the 37 for the score. The extra point failed because of a bad snap.

Rookie Hayden Epstein’s 46-yard field goal put the Jaguars up 9-6 at the end of the half.

Marc Boerigter caught a 51-yard pass from Green on the Chiefs’ final drive.

Notes: Jacksonville’s previous record-long pass was 78 yards from Brunell to Taylor in 1998. … Kansas City G Will Shields made his 145th consecutive start for the Chiefs on Saturday, a team record. Shields has played his entire career in Kansas City, which drafted him in the third round in 1993. … Gonzalez has one TD catch in each of the Chiefs’ first two games. He agreed to a seven-year, $31 million deal with on Friday after holding out through training camp.