BY TRISTAN SASSE
Sunday showcased a matchup between two struggling teams over the past few weeks. The New York Jets hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle of AFC opponents. Both teams entered the weekend having lost five of their past six games. A shootout from the Meadowlands ended in a 38-31 Jets victory.
Game Recap
After struggling offensively in recent weeks, it didn’t take Kansas City long to strike first on Sunday. On the first drive of the game, Alex Smith completed 4-of-4 passes for 75 yards on his way to finding Travis Kelce for a 22-yard touchdown. The Chiefs followed by forcing a three-and-out and having a 24-yard punt return by Tyreek Hill. Smith found Kelce for a 36-yard touchdown on the following play.
Down but not out, Bilal Powell punched in a 1-yard touchdown on third-and-goal for New York. At the end of the quarter, Josh McCown had a 1-yard rushing touchdown of his own to tie the game at 14.
Kansas City advanced deep into Jet territory in the second quarter, but Harrison Butker missed a 38-yard field goal wide right. Near the end of the half, Smith broke free for a 70-yard run, which set up a successful 36-yard field goal by Butker. The Jets answered on the ensuing possession with a 10 play, 75 yard drive ending in an 11-yard touchdown reception by Matt Forte. New York went into halftime leading 21-17.
The Chiefs ended the first half with 261 yards of offense, while giving up 258 yards. Kansas City also gave up 15 first downs in the opening half. Individually, Smith and McCown each ended the first half of play with 164 passing yards. Kelce led all receivers with 90 yards.
To begin the second half, New York marched down the field on an 18-play drive but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro. The drive took nearly 10 minutes. Kansas City answered seconds later with a 79-yard touchdown reception by Hill on the first play of the drive. Catanzaro followed with another field goal, this time from 47 yards, and New York led 27-24 heading into the final quarter.
Early in the fourth, Catanzaro extended the Jets’ lead with a 38-yard field goal. Smith answered with another touchdown pass to Hill, this time a 40-yard reception. Kansas City regained the lead at 31-30.
On the following drive, the Chiefs continued to give up third down conversions. McCown found Jermaine Kearse for a 51-yard completion to set the Jets up deep in Kansas City territory. After two crucial penalties against the Chiefs, the Jets received automatic first downs. On third and goal from the one, McCown added his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon. New York failed the two point conversion but was given another chance after a Kansas City holding penalty. On the following attempt, Elijah McGuire converted the two-point conversion to give the Jets a 38-31 advantage with 2:15 left.
Needing a touchdown, the Chiefs answered with a 40-yard completion to Hill on third down. Deep in New York territory, Kansas City turned the ball over on downs minutes later and the Jets went on to win 38-31.
With the loss, Kansas City remains 1/2 a game in front of the Los Angeles Chargers and Oakland Raiders for the AFC West division lead. The Chargers play the Browns and Raiders face the Giants this afternoon with a chance at the division lead.
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By the Numbers
The Chiefs’ defense gave up 488 yards of offense and 30 first downs. Kansas City averaged 10.3 yards per play, but the Jets had 85 total plays compared to the Chiefs’ 46. New York completed 13-of-20 third down conversions and had possession for over 42 minutes.
For the Jets, McCown completed 26-of-36 attempts, while throwing for 331 yards and a touchdown. Kearse finished with nine receptions for 157 yards and Robby Anderson contributed with eight receptions for 107 yards.
For Kansas City, Smith completed 19-of-33 passes for 366 yards, while throwing four touchdown passes. Hill had six receptions for 185 yards, while Kelce added four receptions for 94 yards. Additionally, Kareem Hunt continued to struggle on the ground, with 40 yards on nine attempts.
Looking Ahead
Kansas City (6-6) will return home in hopes of keeping their playoff chances alive against the Oakland Raiders (5-6). New York (5-7) will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos (3-9) on Sunday, December 10.