Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs were hoping for a nice, easy win this week against the New York Jets. While KC may have walked away with a win, it wasn't as easy (especially early) as the score may indicate. The Chiefs ended up winning 35-12 and certainly had some standout performances worthy of making this week's "winners" list, but they also had some frustrating performances that deserve to be called out as well.
Since the Chiefs won this week, let's start with the winners who got the job done in this one.
Winner: Kenneth Walker
The "winners" list has to start with Kenneth Walker. Walker got back to his MVP-caliber play in this game against the Jets. Walker had three touchdowns and put up over 140 total yards. While the Jets running backs had pretty good days as well, Walker was by far the most effective player for either team in this game. He broke tackles, he juked defenders, and he took advantage of every patch of open field he could find. Simply put, he was excellent once again.
Winner: Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs may have set Patrick Mahomes up to be a loser with the wide receivers and offensive tackles on their roster, but he somehow continues to overcome his circumstances. Obviously, the addition of Kenneth Walker has helped, but Mahomes finds ways to make plays and survive brutal hits (more on that in the losers section). He still has to rely on his 37-year-old tight end and checkdowns to the running backs, but he uses what he has that actually works and helps the Chiefs get points on the board. Hopefully, the Chiefs make him a winner again this week by trading for someone who can help him and the passing game.
Winner: The Pass Rush
The pass rush has made the "losers" list a lot this season, so it's only fair to give them credit when they have a good game. The Chiefs ended up with five sacks, including two each by George Karlaftis and Chris Jones. Karlaftis and Jones each had a batted-down pass in this one as well (something KC has become one of the best in the league at doing), and the Chiefs ended the day with seven QB hits to go along with their five sacks. The Chiefs harassed and battered Geno Smith all game long. Smith eventually was so frustrated that he was caught by the cameras yelling on the sideline. We'll have to see if the pass rush can build on this strong performance or if it was just taking advantage of a bad line, but for this one game, the pass rush was a huge winner.
Loser: Jaylon Moore
There was a small contingent of Chiefs fans and writers (raises hand) who expressed serious concerns about the Chiefs just penciling in Jaylon Moore as the starting right tackle this season after how poor he looked in pass protection last year. Brett Veach and most of Chiefs Kingdom disagreed and thought that Moore might not be great, but he was good enough. That has not been the case, as he has continually looked awful in pass protection. He was beaten badly on multiple plays against the Jets and looked like he may have gotten Patrick Mahomes seriously injured at one point. Mahomes miraculously came back from it, but that doesn't change the fact that Moore is completely untrustworthy in pass protection. Later in the game, Joshua Ezeudu replaced him after he hurt his ankle, but Ezeudu hasn't been any better in pass protection this season either.
Loser: The Wide Receiver Depth Chart
The Chiefs just can't find a way to get enough production out of their wide receivers. Rashee Rice put up five catches for 49 yards, and Xavier Worthy had six catches for 48 yards before leaving the game late with a hamstring injury. If Worthy misses any kind of significant time, the Chiefs have no choice but to trade for a reliable receiver. The Chiefs didn't have a Super Bowl-winning caliber receiver group before the Worthy injury, and without him, one of the worst wideout groups in the NFL gets even worse.
Loser: Harrison Butker
Harrison Butker should be unemployed by the time you are reading this post on Monday. If he isn't, the Chiefs are flat-out hurting their team over a player who clearly can't do the job anymore. Missing back-to-back attempts at the end of the first half should be the final straw. All fans should appreciate the clutch kicks that Butker made during KC's Super Bowl runs, but it is clear that his time in KC should be over.
Loser: The QB Sneak in KC
Seven years ago, Patrick Mahomes suffered a freak injury on a quarterback sneak. He dislocated his knee and missed a few games, and since then, Andy Reid has decided that one of the most reliable short-yardage plays in the NFL isn't worth risking another freak injury. Never mind the fact that they'll drop Mahomes back to pass over and over with bad pass protectors at offensive tackle; the real danger is the QB sneak.
It looked like maybe Andy Reid was willing to put the QB sneak back in on Sunday when he tried it with Justin Fields. Unfortunately, there were two major problems with this plan. First, Reid left Mahomes on the field while sneaking Fields, giving them one less blocker than any other team running the tush push. Second, Fields fumbled the ball during the play. So now Kansas City is likely back to never utilizing the most effective short-yardage play that every other team in the NFL has figured out how to use both safely and effectively.
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