What began as a blowout turned into a game.
Zach Wilson brought the Jets back, but it wasn’t enough as the Chiefs did just enough to escape with a 23-20 victory. The Chiefs moved to 3-1, while the Jets fell to 1-3.
With Aaron Rodgers and Taylor Swift among the stars in the house Sunday night, Patrick Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco led the Chiefs to a field goal after the Jets tied the game 20-20 on the first drive of the second half. Harrison Butker’s 26-yard kick with 10:51 remaining ended up being the deciding points.
It was the 250th regular-season win for Chiefs coach Andy Reid, tying him with Tom Landry for the fourth most in NFL history.
Kansas City finished with 401 total yards, with Pacheco contributing 158.
Mahomes completed 18 of 30 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. It was not one of his best days, but it was good enough. He rushed for 53 yards on five carries and passed Alex Smith (1,672) for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in team history.
Mahomes’ biggest run came with two minutes left when he scrambled for 9 yards on third-and-eight from the Jets 11 before sliding down. With the Jets out of timeouts, Mahomes took two kneel downs to end it.
The Chiefs ran out the final 7:24 with seven first downs and 53 yards, but the Jets were incensed about a defensive holding call on Sauce Gardner with 4:19 left. It negated an interception by Michael Carter and handed the Chiefs a first down after failing on a third-and-20 play.
The Jets, though, will rue all the chances they didn’t take advantage of.
Wilson’s only turnover — a fumble when he took his eyes off the snap that Tershawn Wharton recovered — was the final offensive play for the Jets. It came with the Jets driving, facing a second-and-nine at the Kansas City 49.
Wilson was 28-of-39 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, and Breece Hall ran for 56 yards on six carries.
Who saw this coming?
Zach Wilson is doing his best Aaron Rodgers’ impersonation, leading the Jets back from a 17-0 first quarter deficit to a 20-20 tie in the third.
The Jets quarterback’s pinpoint passing on a seven-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half was unexpected. He was 5-for-5 for 75 yards and a touchdown on the drive after going 18-of-26 for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
He opened the second half with a 25-yard back-shoulder throw to tight end Tyler Conklin and ended it with a 10-yard pass to Allen Lazard for a touchdown. For good measure, Wilson ran in the two-point conversion, diving over the goal line for the tying points.
Lazard now has three catches for 61 yards.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 17-0 lead over the Jets on Sunday Night Football.
But things have shifted since Kansas City right tackle Jawaan Taylor was flagged in the end zone for a safety. And now the Jets appear to have energy on their side, though the Chiefs still lead 20-12 at halftime.
Taylor’s tenure with the Chiefs continued its rough start when he was flagged for a facemask with 13:20 left in the second quarter for grasping a facemask in the end zone. The Jets got two points and the ball back and then scored a field goal to make it 17-5.
Patrick Mahomes then threw his first of two interceptions in the second quarter, with Jets safety Ashlyn Davis coming down with an easy pick.
Quarterback Zach Wilson hit tight end C.J. Uzomah with a 1-yard touchdown pass to make the score 17-12.
The Chiefs did get a 37-yard field goal out of Harrison Butker to make the score 20-12.
The Jets had a chance to make the score closer with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter. But Greg Zuerlein sent his 52-yard field goal attempt off the right upright, keeping the score at 20-12. New York had fourth-and-1 at the Kansas City 34 and the crowd did not seem pleased that head coach Robert Saleh elected to try a field goal.
But Mahomes threw his second interception of the half to give New York another opportunity, with linebacker C.J. Mosley coming up with the takeaway on a pass to tight end Travis Kelce.
The Jets, however, could not do anything with it, as Chris Jones sacked Wilson to end the half.
Wilson is 18-of-26 passing for 141 yards with a touchdown. Garrett Wilson has six receptions for 43 yards.
On the other side, Mahomes is 8-of-16 passing for 135 yards with a touchdown and two picks. Isiah Pacheco has been the Chiefs’ most productive offensive player, taking eight carries for 84 yards — including a 48-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Pacheco has also caught both of his targets for 42 yards.
Kelce has three catches for 37 yards on six targets.
The Jets will receive the second-half kickoff.
The Jets are making it a game.
Down 17-0, New York has scored 12 straight points to make it 17-12, Kansas City, with 6:26 left in the second quarter.
Patrick Mahomes tossed a rare, poor interception on the first play of Kansas City’s possession after the Jets had scored a field goal to make it 17-5. Mahomes was looking for tight end Noah Gray but didn’t put nearly enough air under the pass to complete it. Safety Ashlyn Davis came down with an easy interception, returning it to the Kansas City 41.
Mahomes immediately patted his chest after the interception, blaming himself.
With good field position, the Jets got into the end zone in seven plays. Randall Cobb kept the drive going with a 5-yard catch on third-and-5. And on second-and-goal at the Kansas City 1, quarterback Zach Wilson hit tight end C.J. Uzomah in the end zone for a touchdown.
Wilson is now 13-of-18 for 109 yards with a touchdown, good for a 106.0 rating.
The rough start to Jawaan Taylor’s tenure with the Chiefs has continued on Sunday night against the Jets.
Now Taylor has directly cost Kansas City points, as he committed a facemask penalty in the end zone for a safety.
Taylor was ruled to have grasped and twisted the facemask in the end zone. While a replay showed Taylor’s grasp started in the field of play at about the 1-yard line, Taylor’s twist of the facemask did occur in the paint.
Taylor has been intermittently benched at certain points over the last couple of games for his repeated false starts and lining up too far in the backfield.
Entering Sunday’s game, Taylor had been flagged seven times so far in 2023 — three false starts, two illegal formations, and two offensive holds.
The safety made the score 17-2 and the Jets drove down the field on their ensuing possession and had third-and-3 at the Kansas City 13. But Zach Wilson’s pass to Tyler Conklin in the end zone was incomplete and the Jets settled for a 31-yard field goal to make the score 17-5 with 9:50 left in the second quarter.