K.C. Chiefs 2016 Week 3- Unit Performance vs. N.Y. Jets
Let’s take a look at how each positional unit did in the Chiefs game against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Quarterback
Alex Smith had a better day against the Jets than he had against the Texans. The key stat here is that he completed 54.1% of his passes against Houston and 75.8% of his passes against the Jets. While Smith did better he was still off the mark on many of his passes including a number of deep passes.
Runningbacks
Spencer Ware is giving the Chiefs a battering ram they haven’t had since the 1990s. [Note: Larry Johnson had two excellent years but that’s it]. However, the Chiefs had only 72 total rushing yards in this game.
Wide Receivers
#1 WR Jeremy Maclin was 4 of 7 on catches and targets and #2 WR Chris Conley was 3 of 5. Maclin continues to struggle and yes, some of that is on Alex Smith, but the wide receiving corp as a whole is under-performing as a group with the exception of Tyreek Hill (3 of 4).
Offensive Line
While the offensive line didn’t have their best game, it’s difficult to evaluate them when Jordan Devey was a first-time starter. The offense still has work to do and the OL needs to be a focus of that work.
Tight Ends
Alex Smith’s saving grace in this game was his tight end group. 10 catches for 113 yards was nearly half of Smith’s 237 passing yards. However, it’s Travis Kelce who is the stud here. He’s having a Pro Bowl season again with 17 overall catches for 197 yards in 3 games. If you project that out over the season he’d have 1,050 yards at season’s end.
Defensive Line
The defensive line helps to create enough pressure on the Jets QB to force many of the bad throws he made. They also were part of the reason that the Jets RBs gained 117 yards and produced no sacks.
Outside Linebackers
The outside linebackers helped to create the pressure mentioned above but in the end didn’t get one sack which is their primary goal. There were times in this game when I kept saying to myself, “Is Dee Ford on the field?” One sack and 8 tackles in three games is not nearly what anyone is hoping for.
Inside Linebackers
Derrick Johnson’s 11 tackles and pick-6 can’t be minimized no matter what anyone else did.
Cornerbacks
Marcus Peters has now intercepted 12 passes in 19 career games. The original Riverboat Gambler, while Peter’s risks have rewards, his approach also allows too many WRs to make big plays. On the whole, the young CB group did an excellent job especially when they were backed up to the goal line.
Safeties
The Safeties score a little higher here because they were responsible for 3 of the 6 total INTs. It appeared that once the defense was backed into the Chiefs end of the field, they had the Jets right where they wanted them. That’s not said tongue-in-cheek at all. By shortening the amount of space behind them the Safeties looked like they were able to cover the back end much more completely. The number of passes that were broken up must have set a record.
Special Teams
The Special team group had a better game than any other group and not just because of Tyreek Hill. Yes, Hill’s speed appears to be something teams will continue to have problems with and that bodes well for the Special teams corp in the future.
What do you think my friends?