The Jets came in shorthanded. Garrett Wilson (concussion) was inactive, so Adonai Mitchell and Omar Cooper Jr. were the top 2 receivers. Tim Patrick was a coach's-decision inactive, and the defense played without CB Nahshon Wright, DE Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace and S VJ Payne. The good news was in the backfield: Breece Hall looked like the starter in warmups, back from a 5-game absence, with Braelon Allen coming off a 147-yard day. Kansas City had injuries of its own at corner, with L'Jarius Sneed on IR and Mansoor Delane inactive. DT Peter Woods was also inactive after leaving the Denver game.
For one quarter, the Jets looked like the team the preview described, one that can hang around for 30 minutes. They scored 6 points in each of the first 2 quarters and led 6-0 after 1. The problem was the finishing. Twelve first-half points is what you get from settling for kicks and failing to convert drives, and against Mahomes that doesn't hold up for long. Kansas City scored 14 in the 2nd quarter and went into the locker room ahead 14-12 without ever trailing by much.
The second half was all Kansas City. The Chiefs added 14 in the 3rd and 7 more in the 4th, and the Jets had 0 points after halftime. The preview worried about the Jets' defense collapsing late, and it did give up 21 second-half points for the 2nd straight week. This time, though, the offense was just as much to blame. A unit that put up 33 on Las Vegas and 25 on Miami was shut out over the last 2 quarters, and 229 total yards is the lowest output of this losing streak.
The matchup the preview circled, Mitchell and Cooper against a depleted Chiefs secondary, never turned into anything. With Wilson out, New York had 1 fewer receiver to test those corners, and 229 yards means nobody on the Jets' side found much room. The weather wasn't a factor either. Instead of the cloudy, windy day in the early forecast, it was clear, 57 degrees at kickoff and about 5 mph of wind, so neither team had an excuse for the deep game.
Kansas City moves to 6-2. After a 3-point game in Seattle and the goal-line stop in Denver, the Chiefs finally put together the comfortable home win the board expected. The Jets fall to 2-7, they've lost 4 straight, and the pattern is the same as in the Raiders game: they're competitive for a half and gone by the end.
The final score makes the gap look obvious, but the first half didn't. The Jets moved the ball well enough to lead early. They just couldn't score touchdowns, and Kansas City needed only a few drives in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to take control. That difference between a team that can finish and a team that can't is where New York's season sits right now.
