Kenneth Walker III Scores 3 TDs as Chiefs Rout Jets 35-12 and Mahomes Plays Through Elbow Scare

For one ugly moment late in the first half, Arrowhead Stadium held its breath. David Bailey had just strip-sacked Patrick Mahomes for the second time in three plays, and the two-time MVP walked off with his right arm dangling after it got bent badly on the hit.

Mahomes flexed the elbow on the sideline, threw a few warmup passes, got treatment at halftime and kept playing. Then Kansas City took over. Kenneth Walker III scored three touchdowns, the defense held the New York Jets to minus-9 yards in the third quarter, and the Kansas City Chiefs pulled away for a 35-12 win that ends a two-game skid. Kansas City improves to 6-2. New York falls to 2-7 with its fourth straight loss.

"If I'm able to play, I'm going to play. That's part of the game," Mahomes said. "Once I threw the football, I knew I was OK."

Four Field Goals and a Nagging Feeling

For 30 minutes, the Jets played the better football and still went to the locker room behind. They opened with a 14-play, 64-yard drive that burned 8:13, reached the Kansas City 5 and stalled, so Jason Sanders kicked a 23-yard field goal. On the Chiefs' next series, backup quarterback Justin Fields lost a fumble on a third-and-1 sneak, Demario Davis recovered at the KC 34, and the Jets managed 4 yards before settling for a 48-yarder. New York led 6-0 and had two field goals to show for two golden chances.

Kansas City answered on the first play of the second quarter, finishing a 10-play, 82-yard drive with a 7-yard Mahomes pass to Walker. Sanders hit from 49 to put the Jets back in front. Then Nick Bolton forced a Braelon Allen fumble, Kansas City recovered at the New York 26, and two plays later Walker took a screen 25 yards to the end zone behind guards Trey Smith and Kingsley Suamataia, who cleared the lane like a snowplow.

Sanders added a 54-yarder to make it 14-12, and Bailey's strip-sack of Mahomes handed the Jets the ball at the KC 30 with under two minutes left. That drive died too, and Sanders missed from 53 with 37 seconds to go. Harrison Butker had his own rough half on the other side, missing a 56-yard try, getting a do-over because of a penalty and missing again. The Jets had scored on four of their first five drives and trailed by two.

The Turning Point

The second half was a contest for about 11 minutes. Kansas City took the opening possession 60 yards in 10 plays, and on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Mahomes flipped a lateral along the line to Travis Kelce, who walked in for a 21-12 lead with 10:20 left in the third quarter. It was the third rushing touchdown of Kelce's career.

From there, the Kansas City front ate. George Karlaftis and Ashton Gillotte sacked Geno Smith on consecutive possessions, and the Jets finished the quarter with negative yardage. After a 69-yard punt return was wiped out by a penalty, Walker carried six times on an eight-play, 82-yard march and scored from 2 yards out with 11 seconds left in the quarter. That made it 28-12 and gave Walker the third three-touchdown game of his career. Emmett Johnson added a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:35 to play.

"Honestly, the first half we were making a lot of mistakes," Walker said. "At halftime, we straightened everything out."

Walker, Kelce and a Front That Took Over

Walker ran 18 times for 102 yards and caught four passes for 41 more, good for 143 yards from scrimmage. It was his fifth multi-touchdown game of the season, and Kansas City has won all five. Mahomes finished 23 of 31 for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both to Walker. Kelce caught four passes for 72 yards, and the Mahomes-to-Kelce connection reached 9,365 career yards, passing Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates (9,352) for the most by a quarterback-tight end duo in NFL history.

The defense was the bigger story after halftime. Chris Jones and Karlaftis had two sacks apiece, Gillotte added one, and Drue Tranquill led everyone with 13 tackles. The Jets gained 229 total yards, went 2 of 12 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth, and never reached the end zone.

New York's offense was thin from the start, with star receiver Garrett Wilson out with a concussion. Smith went 18 of 32 for 165 yards and has now been sacked 28 times this season for a league-high 236 yards lost, per the AP. Breece Hall, back from a quadriceps injury that had cost five games, ran 15 times for 61 yards, rookie Omar Cooper Jr. caught eight passes for 58 yards, and Bailey had two sacks. "I thought in the first half guys were making plays. We were playing with a lot of pride and a lot of spirit," Smith said. "I thought the same thing in the second half. It just got away from us."

The Numbers Behind It

• Minus-9 yards of offense for the Jets in the third quarter.
• 4 for 4 in the red zone for Kansas City. The Jets were 0 for 1.
• 5 sacks of Smith by the Chiefs, from Jones, Karlaftis and Gillotte.
• 391 to 229 in total yards, Kansas City.
• 9,365 career yards from Mahomes to Kelce, an NFL record for a quarterback and tight end.

What It Means

Kansas City needed this after back-to-back losses, the first of them a Week 7 defeat to Seattle, followed by a blown 11-point fourth-quarter lead in Denver. At 6-2, the Chiefs sit one game behind the 7-2 Broncos in the AFC West. They visit Atlanta on Nov. 15 with two items to monitor: Mahomes was scheduled for more testing on the elbow, and receiver Xavier Worthy left in the closing minutes with a left hamstring injury. Right tackle Jaylon Moore also hurt an ankle.

Then there is the kicker question, with Justin Tucker on the practice squad and Butker missing again. "No need to ask," Andy Reid said. "I'm not making any decisions about that today."

The Jets host Buffalo on Nov. 15, and the questions are louder there. "I thought the first half everything was kind of on point. The second half we just didn't play up to par," Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. "That's something I have to think long and hard about. I've got a lot of thinking to do."

Kicking Their Way Nowhere

One week after kicking four field goals in a loss to the Raiders, Sanders made four more in the first half alone. He has become the most dependable part of the Jets offense, which says plenty about the rest of it. Twelve points at Arrowhead, against a quarterback playing through an elbow scare, was never going to be enough, and the second half made sure everybody noticed.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press.