Chiefs 35, Jets 12: Walker's three touchdowns turn a slog into a statement
Kansas City trailed at halftime, then scored 21 unanswered points as Kenneth Walker III finished with three touchdowns and the Jets slid to 2-7.
Kenneth Walker III scored three touchdowns and the Chiefs turned a 14-12 halftime squeaker into a 35-12 rout of the Jets at Arrowhead on Sunday, snapping a two-game slide and moving to 6-2. For the Jets, now 2-7 and losers of four straight, it was a familiar story: plenty of effort, no end zone.
Field goals don't beat Kansas City
New York led 6-0, then 9-7, on Jason Sanders field goals — he made four in the first half alone — and had chances to make it worse. The Jets got a strip-sack of Patrick Mahomes, watched Harrison Butker miss twice, and still trailed only because their drives kept dying short of the end zone. Kansas City's first-half touchdowns both went to Walker through the air, the second set up by a Braelon Allen fumble. The AP's recap noted the afternoon's uneasiest moment for home fans: after a second sack by David Bailey, Mahomes was seen flexing his throwing elbow in pain. He stayed in, and no diagnosis was reported.
The third quarter that decided it
Kansas City took the second-half kickoff — spotted at its own 40 after New York kicked out of bounds, as Yahoo Sports noted — and cashed it in, with Travis Kelce scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Walker then capped an eight-play, 82-yard drive with his third touchdown, and the Jets' offense collapsed entirely: minus-9 yards in the quarter. Geno Smith finished with 165 passing yards and was sacked five times; Mahomes threw for 242 yards, and Walker piled up 143 yards from scrimmage, 102 of them on the ground.
What it means
The Chiefs had dropped back-to-back games to Seattle and Denver, and a stumble against a two-win team would have changed the AFC conversation. Instead they head to Atlanta next week back on track — though Xavier Worthy's hamstring injury and that Mahomes elbow are the items to monitor. The Jets, without Garrett Wilson (concussion), host first-place Buffalo next; per the AP, a 16th straight season without the playoffs is now all but certain.