The Kansas City Chiefs will try to capture their third straight victory as they travel to New York to take on the Jets on Sunday Night Football.
Kansas City is coming off a much-needed, well-rounded victory in which it played well in all three phases. While it was refreshing to see them get back to their old ways on offense, the Chiefs’ defense is off to a dominant start, ranking in the top five in pass defense, total defense, and points allowed.
Buy Chiefs TicketsThe Jets won their season opener in dramatic fashion but have come crashing back down to reality after losing two games in a row. Going from Aaron Rodgers to Zach Wilson at quarterback is proving to be an insurmountable task, even with a talented overall roster. New York is quickly losing ground to the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
Check out our offseason report on the Jets, where you’ll find information about their offseason moves and key players. Now, let’s see what it will take for the Chiefs to move to a winning record and defeat the Jets.
Chiefs' defense vs. Jets' offense
Head coach Robert Saleh brought Nathaniel Hackett to New York this offseason to run his offense. Hackett was Rodgers’ offensive coordinator in Green Bay, but obviously, that plan is now out the window. He will now try to get Wilson to run his offense, which is a West Coast system that starts with the short passing game and zone runs.
After working the underneath horizontally, Hackett wants to take shots down the field off play-action. Wilson has the ability with his big arm but struggles with timing and accuracy. He is completing just 52 percent of his passes and averaging only 5.6 yards per completion. The Jets rank dead last in passing and total offense so far this season.
Hackett’s zone running attack is led by veteran Dalvin Cook and electric second-year back Breece Hall. Cook is off to a very slow start, averaging just 2.3 yards per carry, while Hall is running well at a 5.9 yards per carry average. Both were abysmal last week, combing for 36 yards on 20 carries.
Some of that can be attributed to an ineffective passing attack and a subpar offensive line. To make matters worse, starting left tackle Duane Brown was put on injured reserve this week and will miss about a month of action. The Chiefs’ defensive line has a great opportunity to control the line of scrimmage like it has the past two weeks.
Putting an emphasis on keeping Wilson under pressure and taking away his running game could impact his psyche and force him into mistakes. With how good the Chiefs’ defense line has been and the Jets’ offensive line dealing with struggles and injuries, K.C. may not even have to bring a lot of extra blitzers to get pressure and stop the run.
If that’s the case, having extra defensive backs in the secondary will surely give the Chiefs opportunities to pick the ball off. Trent McDuffie matching up with wide receiver Garrett Wilson will be a battle of the elites. Wilson is the reigning AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year and McDuffie is the No. 1 rated cornerback in the NFL per Pro Football Focus.
Chiefs' offense vs. Jets' defense
Saleh was a long-time defensive coach and coordinator before joining the Jets in 2021. Jeff Ulbrich is his defensive coordinator, but make no mistake, it’s Saleh’s system. Together they run a base 4-3 defense with elements of 3-4 mixed in.
A staple of their defense is the wide-9, which features four defensive linemen with the defensive ends lining up a couple of feet outside the tackles or outside the tight end. They line up at a slant and rush the passer from the outside or set the edge against the run.
This makes it hard for teams to run outside the tackles to the perimeter of the field, turning them inside and allowing the linebackers to make the tackles. However, it makes them susceptible to getting gashed up the middle.
With each defensive end coming from so far out wide, if the interior offensive line can get a good push, it can do some real damage through the middle. It also allows the offensive line to get to the second level more quickly, something the Chiefs do well. Draw and counter-running plays are also effective against the wide-9.
The Jets have had some struggles against the run, ranking 23rd against it so far this season. The Chiefs’ running game has gained some momentum each of the last two weeks led by Isiah Pacheco, providing a nice opportunity for a ground-and-pound approach for K.C.
Back in the secondary, Saleh uses his corners to play a lot of press-man coverage. The strong safety often enters the box to help with run support while the free safety plays single-high. This can leave them susceptible to deep routes down the sidelines.
The deep passing game hasn’t quite gelled yet for the Chiefs, so it will be interesting to see if they take a few shots. New York has been solid against the pass so far this year and has a couple of stud defensive backs in Sauce Gardner and Jordan Whitehead.
