RL: It won’t be easy, needless to say. Mahomes, if not the most jaw-dropping QB in the NFL through the first three weeks, is still devastating whether passing the ball behind impeccable protection or running with it, whether by design or necessity. With the WR corps having been rebuilt post-Tyreek Hill, the answer to the Chiefs offense as always is stopping Mahomes to TE Travis Kelce … if you can. S Jordan Whitehead, one of the Jets tasked with keeping tabs on tights, is off to a hot start with those three opening-night INTs. Yet in the last two games, the Jets’ pass defense has yielded three TE touchdowns. And as LB Quincy Williams described the task at hand: “We know for a fact they’re going to try and find Kelce. Don’t give up on the play.” Especially in the red zone, where both the Chiefs offense (tied for third in the NFL in red zone TD rate) and Jets defense (tied for fifth in opponents’ RZ TDs). That’s where Kelce has sparkled, with his 32 red zone TDs since 2019 leading the NFL’s tight ends. And inside the Jets 20 is where this Sunday night battle may well be won and lost.
CH: I think this goes back to the same mentality when the Jets faced the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. You may not get to the QB with your first move, but that’s how you counter and still create pressure. Mahomes is a magician who is extremely mobile and can change his plays on the fly. The best way to slow him down is the one-two punch of adding pressuring, but also getting turnovers. While the Jets DL Quinnen Williams had a high of 7 QB pressures last game against Mac Jones, the Jets defensive line was unable to bring him down for a sack. The last two games the Jets haven’t gotten any interceptions either after Jordan Whitehead’s three-interception game in Week 1. While the Chiefs have a lot of offensive weapons in Isiah Pacheco, Travis Kelce, and Justin Watson the best way to limit their play -making abilities is by forcing Mahomes to get rid of the ball faster than he would like or to throw it haphazardly. I know it’s a tall task going up the reigning Super Bowl champion, but if anyone is ready to prove themselves it’s the Jets defense.
JP: With Patrick Mahomes as starter, the Chiefs have a 66-17 regular-season record and an 11-3 record in the postseason. It’s not a secret that the Jets defense will have its hands full. The Jets may have the pass rush to limit the two-time MVP. In Mahomes’ few career losses, opponents averaged 2.1 sacks per game in comparison to 1.1 sacks per game in wins. This season the Chiefs O-Line has surrendered 1 sack and Mahomes has been pressured on a career-low 25.4% of his dropped backs. The Jets defensive line, which returned All-Pro Quinnen Williams and the majority of their starters, was No. 7 in sacks last season (45) and Williams a week ago against the Patriots created a career-high 7 pressures. The Jets will need to collapse the pocket against Mahomes to have a chance. In addition, because of Mahomes’ ability to create off-schedule, LB Quincy Williams said the Jets defense will need to stay persistent in coverage: “Do right longer. You can’t have a mental clock in your head that thinks the ball should be out or he should be sacked by now.” The Jets All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed will be up for the challenge.