NFL Week 13 Preview: Chiefs at Jets

The Kansas City Chiefs visit the New York Jets in Week 13 of the 2017 NFL season. PFF previews the top player matchups of the game.

Coverage by: Mike Guerrelli

TE Travis Kelce vs. S Jamal Adams – Kansas City will look to get Kelce more involved this week after he only saw four targets in their Week 12 loss to Buffalo. He is PFF's top tight end this season with an 87.6 overall grade. Kelce ranks third among tight ends with 2.07 yards per route run, and is second with 2.42 yards per route run from the slot. He should mostly be matched up with the rookie Adams, who is ranked 62nd at safety this year with a 70.7 overall PFF grade. Adams has struggled in coverage, allowing the most touchdowns of any safety with five. His 0.81 yards per cover snap ranks 67th of 85 qualifying safeties.

Travis Kelce, tight end, Kansas City Chiefs

RB Kareem Hunt vs. LB Darron Lee – After a terrific start to his rookie year, Hunt's production has fallen off recently. He had nine runs of 15 or more yards in Weeks 1-5, and had only three such runs in Weeks 6-12. Hunt is still PFF's second-ranked running back with an 88.5 overall grade this season. Lee ranks 69th of 86 qualifying linebackers with a 43.1 overall grade this year. He has the ninth-most run stops of any linebacker with 25, and his 8.6 percent run-stop percentage ranks 37th. Lee has allowed 32 receptions and 355 yards in coverage this season, the 16th most yardage of any linebacker.
G Zach Fulton and C Mitch Morse vs. DI Leonard Williams – Williams lines up all over the Jets defensive line, but the majority of his snaps dictate that Fulton and Morse will be most responsible for slowing him down Sunday. Since returning from injury mid-season, Morse hasn't be as effective, recording grades of less than 42.0 in three of four games during Weeks 8-12. Fulton has started at left guard the last two weeks, and ranks 38th of 68 qualifying guards in PFF pass-blocking efficiency over those two games. Williams is the Jets highest-graded defender this season, and the 26th ranked interior defender with an 84.1 overall grade.

Coverage by: Cyrus Geller

WR Robby Anderson vs. CB Marcus Peters – Anderson has been on a tear as of late, as over the last three weeks he is averaging 3.16 yards per route run, which ranks 10th out of 88 qualified receivers in the league. Last week against Carolina he had a passer rating when targeted of 143.8 and an overall grade of 89.5. He will see a lot of Marcus Peters, who has just had an average season by his standards. His overall grade of 79.9 puts him 39th out of 118 qualified corners, and has allowed four touchdowns while in coverage, tied for the eighth-most in the league.

Robby Anderson, wide receiver, New York Jets

T Brandon Shell vs. Edge Justin Houston – The Chiefs have the heavy advantage in this matchup, as Houston continues a stellar 2017 season, and Shell has struggled thus far. Houston has 38 total pressures from the left side, which is tied for the third most among 47 qualified 3-4 outside linebackers and his overall grade of 87.4 ranks 13th out of 112 qualified edge defenders. Shell’s overall grade of 56.1 puts him 51st out of 80 qualified offensive tackles, and he has allowed five sacks this year, which is tied for the ninth most in the league among tackles.
C Wesley Johnson vs. DI Chris Jones – Another big advantage in the trenches for the Chiefs, as Jones is tied for the 19th-highest graded interior defender out of 118 that qualify with an overall grade of 85.5, while Johnson’s overall grade of 32.9 is dead last out of the 36 qualified centers in the league. His pass blocking efficiency rating of 96.6 is 28th among centers, and his five hits allowed is tied for the second most. Jones has totaled 24 total pressures on the season, the seventh-most among 42 qualified 3-4 defensive ends. This could be a rough day for Johnson on the inside.