Nov 2, 2014; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs tight end Anthony Fasano (80) scores a touchdown during the first half against the New York Jets at Arrowhead Stadium. Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo.- The Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) made easy work of the New York Jets (1-8) Sunday, toppled the Jets 24-10 with most of the scoring coming in the first half.
Quarterback Alex Smith completed 21-of-31 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon.
The Jets quarterbacks weren’t as fortunate. Michael Vick started ahead of Geno Smith, who is out with a shoulder injury. Vick left the game temporarily to receive treatment for a head injury. He returned after missing one drive. Quarterback Matt Simms, who was just promoted from the practice squad Saturday, temporarily relieved Vick.
Vick completed 21-of-28 passes for 196 yards. Simms completed 3-of-8 passes for 39 yards in his NFL debut.
Next up for the Chiefs are the Buffalo Bills (5-3), the Seattle Seahawks (5-3) and the Oakland Raiders (0-8)
In the meantime, here are the highs and lows for Week 9.
HIGHS:
• Linebacker Justin Houston racked up two more sacks on Sunday, giving him four multi-sack games on the season. The former Georgia Bulldog currently has 12 sacks on the season, putting him on pace for 24 sacks at the end of the year. Former Giants defensive end and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan hold the single-season NFL record of 22 1/2 sacks.
• Rookie running back De’Anthony Thomas showed off his speed on a 78-yard kickoff return. His return blew his other two returns out of the water. His longest kickoff return of the season was a 21-yard run when the Chiefs played at San Diego during Week 7. He matched his all-purpose yards season high with 109 yards, previously set against the San Diego Chargers.
• Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe caught his 500th career pass in the second quarter. The pass was an 11-yard reception from Smith. Tony Gonzalez is the only other Chief in program history who has more than 500 receptions.
• Smith almost went without getting sacked for the first time all year. Smith was sacked during the Chiefs second-to-last play. Coming into Sunday’s game, Smith had been sacked a total of 18 times and the Jets defense came in with 24 sacks on the year. This was a step in the right direction for the offensive line and helped Smith’s 139.2 quarterback rating on the game.
• The Kansas City defense is the only team left in the NFL to not allow a rushing touchdown. The defense allowed the Jets into the red zone twice, resulting in a passing touchdown and a field goal.
ALSO OF NOTE:
• Tight end Anthony Fasano had one of the strangest touchdowns by any player in the NFL all season and it wasn’t even intended for him. Jets linebacker Calvin Pace tipped Smith’s pass to Bowe right into Fasano’s lap and he crawled into the end zone.
“It was a run/pass option,” Fasano said while laughing. “I went to go cut my defender and I was pretty unsuccessful at that, because it was a pass and he reacted. It got batted up and fell in my lap and I just dove into the end zone there.”
Smith also joked about the touchdown after the game, saying that they had worked on that play all week during practice.
LOWS:
• During the beginning of the Chiefs’ second drive of the game, the Chiefs had a case of the fumbles. Tight end Travis Kelce caught a 34-yard pass and couldn’t hold on to the ball after maintaining possession, fumbling near the sideline and the ball immediately went out of bounds. On the following play, Smith lost the ball after the snap and running back Jamaal Charles recovered it, turning what could have been a bad play into something productive.
• The majority of the scoring came in the first half. At the halftime, the Chiefs led 21-10. The Jets held the Chiefs to 98 yards in the second half, most of which came on a 75-yard drive early in the third quarter.
• The defense may not have allowed a single rushing touchdown on the season, which is obviously a high, but a Chiefs wide receiver still hasn’t found the end zone through eight games. The Chiefs had a couple close calls on Sunday, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The Fasano touchdown was intended for Bowe, but it wasn’t meant to be. Wide receiver A.J. Jenkins caught a pass in the red zone and was tripped up at the 1-yard line.
• Kickers aren’t generally known for their tackling skills and that held true for rookie kicker Cairo Santos. Santos was flagged for tripping Jets wide receiver Percy Harvin on a kickoff return at the end of the second quarter. He has already started to catch flak from his teammates for the “tackle” and knows more of it is on the way.
“I’m sure we’ll have fun with it, but at the end of the day I can’t do that,” Santos said. “I’m just trying to prevent a touchdown. I can’t do things like that.”
Charles normally doesn’t drop too many passes, but he failed to scoop up one just before halftime that would have put him on the pay dirt.
“I missed an opportunity during the game, the pass I dropped, and it was on my mind the whole game,” Charles said.
