It was obvious that running back, New Jersey native Isiah Pacheco was the MVP of Sunday night's win over the New York Jets by the Kansas City Chiefs. He accumulated 158 all-purpose yards, including rattling off a 48-yard touchdown run where he went untouched. Everyone is also talking about the Sauce Gardner holding penalty and Taylor Swift attending her second Chiefs game in a row.
Patrick Mahomes struggled in this game, getting outplayed by Zach Wilson in terms of passing statistics. That is a phrase I never thought I would say out loud, but some other talking points need to be heard.
Let’s dig into some crucial moments and aspects of this weird game that happened on Sunday night.
1. Bryan Cook’s tackle
Following a Chiefs punt in the third quarter, with the game tied at 20, Jets running back Breece Hall broke loose for what looked to be an 85-yard touchdown run. Luckily for the Chiefs, Second-year safety out of Cincinnati, Bryan Cook had other ideas.
Cook’s athletic and clutch open-field tackle ended that breakaway after 43 yards. Three downs later, the Jets punted the ball to Kansas City and New York never scored again after that point. The Jets would have taken a 27-20 lead, and who knows what would have happened in the end. Take a look at this beauty right here.
This HUGE open-field tackle by Bryan Cook prevented a long TD and saved the game. pic.twitter.com/J4ToTQ3y6k
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) October 2, 2023
2. Chiefs' pass rush was active, but did not get home
The Chiefs' defense only brought down Zach Wilson twice, but they were credited with nine quarterback hits and nine hurries, according to PFF. Defensive end George Karlaftis was credited with three of those hurries.
If the pass rush gets home once or twice more it could have been a totally different ball game. Chris Jones did end the first half with a sack to prevent New York from chasing more points.
The only disturbing trend is that six of those pressures came from defensive backs or linebackers. The Chiefs had trouble generating pressure with their front four against a suspect and beat up the Jets' offensive line and Steve Spagnolo felt the need to bring the heat to get Wilson uncomfortable.
3. Jets linebackers Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley were an issue
The short passing game was held in check for most of the night for the Chiefs offense. A large part of that was due to the Jets linebacking duo of Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley. They were all over the place tallying 24 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 pass defenses, and a quarterback hit between the two of them. According to PFF, they didn’t miss a single tackle on pass plays.