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I was not aware of this until KC Chiefs radio play-by-play guy Mitch Holthus said it during the broadcast.
Two plays after RB Braelon Allen fumbled deep in Jets territory in the second quarter, RB Kenneth Walker took a short pass for a 25-yard TD to make the score 14-9 Chiefs.
Hothus pointed out, these were the first points the Jets have given up all season after a turnover.
Considering how huge the turnover ratio generally is in the NFL, and how points off turnover can be a gut punch for teams, this is a pretty remarkable stat.
This kind of points to how bad the Jets defense has been this season. Even without having to deal with many short fields due to turnovers, they are still letting teams light them up on the scoreboard on most Sundays, clearly on a lot of long drives.
The combination of bad run defense and myraid blow assignments in coverage is at the tip of the spear of why the Jets are 2-7.
The Chiefs ran for 163 yards, a lot of it up the middle. Runs up the gut have been a problem all season for the Jets.
And a big reason for that is the team playing a pair of undersized, short-armed defensive tackles, Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips, in a 3-4 defense. They fit much better in a 4-3 front.
In a way they are victims here.
Square peg, round hole.
You especially have to feel bad for Briggs. There is nothing about his game that makes him a good fit for a 3-4 line.
His best role is as a backup 3-technique tackle in a 4-3 defense spelling at starter.
The Jets have him starting on a 3-4 line.
The Jets were in this game at the half, down just 14-12.
First play of the second half, RB Kenneth Walker went up the middle for an 11-yard gain – right at Phillips and Briggs.
There was a play late in the third quarter where Chiefs left tackle Khalil Benson pushed Briggs to the left on skates opening a big hole for Walker gain of 11 off left tackle.
Making Briggs deal with offensive tackles makes no sense and is an injustice to the player, who is a wonderful person with great character.
After the Jets’ 38-33 loss to the Raiders, we wrote a story on this site about the Jets having a “state of emergency,” and perhaps they need for Aaron Glenn to let somebody else call the plays, or they need to bring in a defensive consultant like Dallas did with Mike Pettine, to give the defensive coaches some new ideas.
Right now, this defense is an unmitigated disaster.
While the Jets defense wasn’t terrible in the first half, before the bottom dropped after Andy Reid made some halftime adjustments, a common issue did occur on the Chiefs’ first TD of the game in the second quarter.
Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker was left wide open in the right flat to catch a pass and waltz into the end zone for an easy 7-yard TD.
I saw right after the snap, Demario Davis, the leader of the Jets defense, pointing for somebody to get over there to cover Walker, but nobody did.
This pass defense consistently gives other teams layups in the passing game. In a recent loss to New England, QB Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes to targets that were all pretty wide open.
Clearly, the decision to force Glenn to handle the defense and manage the game, perhaps in a cost-saving measure, hasn’t worked out well for the coach or the team…
The Jets ran the ball fairly well today, finishing with 106 yards rushing.
The passing game was substandard, and one problem seemed to be similar to what we saw in Chicago, in a Jets blowout loss to the Bears.
The Chiefs’ brilliant defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnolo, was dialing up coverages that had Geno Smith not trusting his eyes.
Yes, he was sacked five times, which is not ideal, but there were many plays where he had time, but the coverage puzzle that Spagnolo presented gave the QB issues.
That is why “Spags” is one of the best in the business…
The Jets settled for four field goals today.
After we saw tight end Mason Taylor catch a pair of 50-50 balls for touchdowns against Miami, why hasn’t that been used in the red zone since?
He’s 6-5 with great hand-eye coordinator and good leaping ability – give him a chance to go up and grab the rock over a shorter defender, as they did against Miami with great success.
November 8, 2026
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