Despite an outstanding performance from quarterback Alex Smith (366 passing yards, four touchdowns), the Kansas City Chiefs dropped their road contest with the New York Jets, 38-31.
Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill was the star of the show for Smith and the Chiefs with his 185 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but New York’s Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse had a show of their own. The two Jets wide receivers combined for 264 yards and 17 receptions of QB Josh McCown's 26 completions and 331 yards.
With that, we give you our PFF-exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 Grades:
WR Jermaine Kearse, 91.5 overall grade
WR Robby Anderson, 86.9 overall grade
S Jamal Adams, 84.9 overall grade
CB Buster Skrine, 81.3 overall grade
QB Josh McCown, 81.2 overall grade
Performances of Note:
WR Jermaine Kearse, 91.5 overall grade
Kearse was kept out of the endzone but his 150-plus yard game included two outstanding fourth quarter grabs. The first bailed out a high throw by McCown on third down, as he was able to snag the ball one-handed and still get down in bounds before he went over the sideline. The second saw him evade two tacklers to break off a 51-yard gain and put the Jets' on the doorstep on the game's decisive drive. In combination with the explosive Robby Anderson, Kearse provided the spark for the offense as the ground game plodded along at 3.2 yards per carry.
QB Josh McCown, 81.2 overall grade
McCown channeled his inner Tom Brady at times in this game, sneaking for three successful conversions (two touchdowns and a fourth-down conversion). He more than played his part in the passing game, his accuracy and decisiveness in the short passing game saw him complete 18-of-19 passes aimed within 0 and 9 yards of the line of scrimmage for 231 yards and one of his touchdowns as the Jets stayed alive in the playoff race.
S Jamal Adams, 84.9 overall grade
Adams' impact was limited for much of the game but he came alive when the ball found its way to him on the final drive. Prior to this Adams' only influence on the game was a missed tackle on Alex Smith's 70-yard scramble but on the final drive he was over the top of Travis Kelce on a broken play to prevent a big gain, tackled Kelce after he eluded Julian Stanford to limit his gain to four yards and then came up with the third down pass breakup that could and should have ended the game much sooner. The Chiefs got a lot of joy out of targeting the Jets' other rookie safety but they found none when they finally took the action to Adams on the final drive.
DI Leonard Williams, 80.4 overall grade
Williams recorded nine pressures in this game, few were decisive but he took advantage of stunts, stayed alive to clean up on plays as Alex Smith held on to the ball. Williams relentlessly knocked the pocket back to try and have some effect on Smith. Stops were on the low side for Williams, as they were for the entire Jets' defense, his solitary stop was one of only nine in the entire game by the New York defense. Every little bit helps and Williams helped keep the Chiefs interior offensive line on their heels.
Top 5 Grades:
WR Tyreek Hill, 86.3 overall grade
DI Bennie Logan, 86.1 overall grade
DI Chris Jones, 85.9 overall grade
DI Rakeem Nunez-Roches, 85.6 overall grade
TE Travis Kelce, 85.4 overall grade
Performances of Note:
WR Tyreek Hill, 86.3 overall grade
Just in case it had passed you by in the last two years, Tyreek Hill is really fast. Hill brought in six catches against the Jets and turned them into 185 yards by way of 159 yards on three passes aimed 20-plus yards down the field. Hill torched both Rashard Robinson and Morris Claiborne for deep scores and almost added a fourth deep catch as well, almost toeing the sideline in tight coverage at the end of the second quarter. His short passes may not have amounted to much but Hill's deep impact sparked the quick strike Chiefs offense.
QB Alex Smith, 81.2 overall grade
Over the Chiefs' last four games, Alex Smith racked up just 146 deep passing yards and one touchdown. Today alone he racked up 217 passing yards on deep passes and collected four touchdowns as the Chiefs rediscovered their vertical passing game. Smith added a spectacular 70-yard scramble to boot and had the Chiefs alive on the final drive but the offense came to a juddering halt again when it mattered, with his badly forced throw almost ending the game a play earlier that it eventually did. Smith's pocket presence was sketchy again this week to boot, as he was charged with a sack for the third week in a row.
DI Bennie Logan, 86.1 overall grade
When he arrived from Philadelphia in the off-season, Bennie Logan looked sure to provide an upgrade in productivity on the defensive line for the Chiefs and he has done just that. His four stops this week (all four were run stops) took his season total up to 28 with 4 games to play, already the third highest total of his career.
CB Steven Nelson, 30.1 overall grade
The Chiefs' problems at cornerback continued this week with Nelson seeing extended playing time after Darrelle Revis' return lasted only a half that included two missed tackles. Nelson surrendered a career high 143 passing yards on 8 targets, 129 of them to Jermaine Kearse. Nelson was also culpable for one of the game's key plays, giving the Jets a second shot at a 2-point conversion at the end of the game when he clumsily tripped and pulled at Kearse in the endzone. The 51-yard gain he allowed to Kearse earlier on that drive was the first 50-plus yard catch Nelson has allowed in his career.
PFF Game Ball: Jermaine Kearse, WR
*Grades are subject to change upon review
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