Chiefs unravel late vs. Jets as nosedive accelerates
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It looked, for a moment, as though the Chiefs would finally break through and pull up from their downward spiral.
But the sight of quarterback Alex Smith, snapping his chin strap loose and slumping his head after a failed comeback attempt only reinforced a recurring problem. This was just the latest, but perhaps deepest, disappointment in a troubling middle stretch of the season.
The Chiefs lost to the Jets 38-31 Sunday and have now dropped six of their last seven games. Though Smith completed 19 of 33 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns, tying a season high, the defense imploded as Kansas City's playoff hopes took yet another shot.
“We’re searching for sure,” Smith said. “Everybody, I feel like, has had their hand in it. We’ve had some games, I think both sides, offense and defense, where we felt like not holding up their end for each other. We haven’t put them together recently. We have to play better. We know we’re capable of better.”
A pair of penalties – one on a fourth-down field goal attempt and another on a third-down incompletion – gifted the Jets first downs inside the Chiefs’ 5-yard line. That positioning allowed New York (5-7) to score the game-winning touchdown, a quarterback sneak by Josh McCown.
Cornerback Marcus Peters, frustrated after later his team was penalized after the Jets' two-point try, picked one of the yellow flag up and flung it into the stands. Peters was not ejected, but he simply walked off the field and went into the tunnel. He later returned after a few minutes without his helmet and without his socks.
“Everybody has to learn from a situation like that,” Chiefs safety Ron Parker told Paste BN Sports. “In the future, we can’t lose our composure and we need to learn from our mistakes, man, and just do better.”
According to head coach Andy Reid, Peters thought he had been ejected and left the field. Peters left the locker room before it opened for reporters and did not take any questions.
Kansas City’s defense gave up 488 yards on 85 plays. The Chiefs also allowed New York to convert 13 of 20 third-down attempts.
“Us, in the back end, we didn’t make our plays,” Parker said. “The secondary, on third downs, when it was time to get off the field, we let up. We let up. And we gave them more opportunities to put up points on the board. That’s not like our defense. I’ve been here for five years. That’s not us.”
The finish marred what had been a promising start for Kansas City and its offense. After less than five minutes, Smith had completed all five of his passes for 111 yards and had found tight end Travis Kelce for two touchdowns. The Chiefs led by two scores and had run just six plays on offense.
And though Kansas City encountered a lull in the second quarter, the Chief offense woke up and posted numerous explosive plays – something sorely missed over the past month and a half.
Reid removed himself as the team’s offensive play caller for Sunday's game and said coordinator Matt Nagy “did a heck of a job” with the responsibility.
More importantly, Smith broke out of a slump after hearing calls for his job.
“I’m sick of hearing that Alex is the reason this team isn’t winning,” Kelce said. “He played his tail off, and we went out there and battled.”
Receiver Tyreek Hill gained 185 receiving yards while scoring on connections of 79 and 40 yards. Kelce caught four passes for 94 yards and the two scores.
At 6-6, Kansas City now is set for a pivotal final four weeks of the season. The Chiefs host the Raiders in Week 14 and will face all three of their division opponents to finish the year. How they fare in that run likely will determine whether return to the postseason.
“Certainly not where we thought we’d be after a 5-0 start,” Smith said. “But as frustrating as it is, with the division the way it is, for us, this is a big week. We know we’ve got two big ones going back home. We’ve got to find a way to get better and win some games.”
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.
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