Jets Country

Mahomes, Chiefs Romp Past Jets 35-9, Handing New York Eighth Loss

The New York Jets stayed winless, losing their eighth game of the season on Sunday, blown out by QB Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs

Max Goodman

Lining up the winless Jets with the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs had blowout written all over it. Sure enough, Sunday's Week 8 matchup at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City went just as expected.

New York showed signs of life out of the gates, but was held scoreless in the second half for the third-consecutive week. Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes had his way with the Jets' defensive unit, tossing a season-high five touchdowns and 416 yards.

With the 35-9 rout, the Jets start the season 0-8 for the first time since 1996. New York finished that season 1-15. 

Not only have the Jets been held to 10 points or less in each of their last four games, but New York hasn't scored a touchdown in its last seven quarters.

As was the case in the Jets' loss last week, to the Buffalo Bills, New York put points on the board early. Kicker Sergio Castillo, filling in once again for an injured Sam Ficken, nailed three field goals on the Jets' first three drives. 

With three minutes left in the second quarter, the Jets were in striking distance down by just one possession. A five-point game approaching halftime? Too good to be true for New York, right? The Chiefs' dynamic offense would go on to score 21 unanswered points, cruising to their seventh win of the year.

On Kansas City's ensuing drive, after Castillo's third make, Mahomes stormed down the field capping off the Chiefs' quickest touchdown drive of the afternoon with a three-yard underhand shovel to tight end Travis Kelce. 

Sam Darnold, who finished with 133 yards through the air on 18 completions Sunday, put the Jets in position to score at the end of the first half. Castillo's last-second field-goal attempt was blocked by Kansas City's Armani Watts.

Only once in the second half did a Jets drive last more than three plays on offense. After a first down connection from Darnold to Braxton Berrios (who had a team-high eight catches Sunday), the fourth play of the drive went to tight end Chris Herndon. He was stripped following his lone reception of the afternoon.

Mahomes carved up the Jets' secondary all game long. Other than the crafty scoop to Kelce, his four other touchdown passes went for 26-or-more yards. Speedster Tyreek Hill was on the receiving end for a pair of scores.

The lone bright spots for New York were Denzel Mims and Quinnen Williams. The rookie Mims led the Jets' receivers with 42 yards (on two catches) including an acrobatic 27-yard reception down the sideline. As for Williams, the second-year lineman led the way on the defensive side of the ball with two tackles for loss. 

Next up for the Jets? New York returns home to host the New England Patriots on Monday night. With the Trade Deadline on Tuesday, we may see some roster moves before then.

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), on Facebook (also @MaxTGoodman) and be sure to bookmark JetsCountry and check back daily for news, analysis and more going forward. 

Published
Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

Home/News