The Kansas City Chiefs were looking to get back into the win column. They ended up rewriting a few narratives along the way.
The New York Jets visited Arrowhead Stadium in Week 9 and hoped to send the Chiefs to a third consecutive loss. Instead, K.C. was back to its winning ways in a decisive 35-12 victory that brought its overall record to 6-2. It was the sort of get-right performance that should ease fans' concerns after watching the Chiefs lose their grip on AFC supremacy in previous weeks.
It wasn't a perfect game by any means, but Kansas City looked much better on Sunday than they have in nearly a month. And a lot of players or positions got a chance to silence their critics in the process. Here are some quick takeaways from the Chiefs' sixth win of the season.
Kenneth Walker is the truth
Kenneth Walker was brought in to be an important component for the Chiefs' offense. He's turned into the engine. Over the last two weeks, as teams have found ways to slow or even stop Walker's offensive impact, the Chiefs lost both games in tough road contests. On Sunday against the Jets, however, Walker was back to his dominant ways, and the results spoke for themselves.
The final line for Walker: 143 yards from scrimmage, 3 touchdowns. Walker had 18 carries for 102 yards and 1 score on the ground, giving him a healthy 5.7 yards/carry average. But he also added two first-half touchdown catches that gave K.C. an early lead before blowing the game open in the second half. After only getting 141 yards from scrimmage in his last two games combined, Walker's heroics on Sunday were inspiring to see.
The pass rush gets home
The Chiefs' defensive line has likely stayed off social media for the last several weeks after failing to register a sack in multiple games. After starting the season with 4 sacks of Bo Nix in the season-opening win over Denver, the Chiefs have only had 5 since then, and 4 of those came against the Chargers in Week 6. That's four games out of seven that the Chiefs' pass rush was shut out in the sacks department.
That's why it felt like such a relief to see multiple Chiefs get the best of Geno Smith and the Jets offensive line. George Karlaftis had a big day against both the run and the pass, and he finished Sunday afternoon with 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 pass deflection. Chris Jones landed two sacks as well, including the first of the day with a 9-yard takedown of Smith in the second quarter. Ashton Gillotte joined the fun with a 14-yard sack as well.
It's been an inconsistent season, but the Chiefs' pass rush put up a strong effort on Sunday and deserves a lot of credit for doing so.
Wide receiver is an even bigger need
As the Chiefs turn their attention to Tuesday's trade deadline, they were already connected to nearly every available wide receiver on the block. But after watching Xavier Worthy leave for the locker room with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs have every reason to lean into a deal and perhaps more than one.
Worthy hasn't yet made the leap in his third season that everyone was hoping to see coming into '26, but he remains one of the better options in an already limited wide receiver room. With Tyquan Thornton also on the shelf, Patrick Mahomes desperately needs more reliable targets to work with, even if that means importing them from the outside.
While the team hopes for the best for Worthy's diagnosis and recovery, expect the front office to shore up concerns and provide them some security with a move or two by Tuesday afternoon.
Harrison Butker has to go
Any other kicker would have been gone a long time ago.
Harrison Butker's postseason heroics mean he'll never have to buy his own drinks in Kansas City ever again. But an unreliable kicker is an unemployable kicker in the NFL these days, especially one who can't be trusted from long distance. The Chiefs have been extending Butker quite the lifeline in '26, his tenth NFL season, but with Justin Tucker already on the practice squad providing extra pressure, it feels like Butker's run is over.
Butker missed wide right on a 56-yard field goal attempt shortly before halftime, but an offsides call on Jets wide receiver Malik McClain gave him a second chance. Unfortunately, Butker was once again wide right on a 51-yard attempt. He's now 2 of 8 from 50 yards or more officially on the season, but even his unofficial attempts aren't converting. Whether the issues are physical or mental, the Chiefs can't afford to wait while he figures things out.
Rashee Rice's burst is legit
Rashee Rice returned last week for the first time in nearly a month after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 4. That came after he was also working his way back from an offseason knee surgery to start the season. Rice looked solid in a losing effort against the Broncos in Week 8, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he expected him to look even better as he felt better. Reid was right.
Rice wasn't the Chiefs' leading receiver on the afternoon—that honor belonged to Travis Kelce—but his burst was a major boost to the Chiefs' offense on Sunday. As a trusted volume target for Mahomes, Rice is a centerpiece for the team's aerial attack, so long as he's able to show what he did against the Jets. On a day when the WR room took a big hit, there's some comfort in having Rice look more like his old self.
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