Perfection can keep Gang in game, maybe
It feels like the football version of “Mission: Impossible.”
The Jets (0-7), who have been outscored by 118 points this season, traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs (6-1), the defending Super Bowl champions with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and Andy Reid on the headset. This could be as lopsided as Tyson-Spinks, but the Jets won’t be put out of their misery in 91 seconds.
“It’s an opponent that we have to play outstanding complementary football, it has to be three phases working together,” Jets coach Adam Gase said. “Defensively, they know what they’re dealing with, when you got Patrick Mahomes back there and then a ton of athletic elite-skill players and then a good offensive line to boot, it makes it tough.
“And then, offensively, we’re going to have our hands full, obviously they have some really good players, they can create pressure very quickly in the pass game, they can stop the run. And then when you get back in like they do where you get their hands on a lot of balls and are very disruptive and are going to make sure it’s tight coverage and when they pressure, it’s problematic. So, on special teams, that’s another thing, you’re dealing with an elite return team, so we got to play really good team football.”
Playing good team football is not something the Jets have done this season. The defense played better last week against the Bills, holding them to six field goals. The offense, though, has been atrocious. They have the worst offense in the NFL and are coming off a second half against Buffalo in which they gained just 4 yards.
“The feeling is, offensively we haven’t put together a full game of football yet,” tight end Ryan Griffin said. “We’re really worrying about ourselves right now, first and foremost. The defense is going to have their hands full. We know that. So, we’ve got to pitch a perfect game, really, offensively, in order to give us a chance to win in Kansas City. We know it’s a tall challenge, but we’re looking forward to it.”
The Jets come into this game as 19.5point underdogs, one of the biggest lines they’ve seen in team history. It will feel like a victory if they can keep this one close into the fourth quarter. They are losing by an average of 17 points per game this year. The margin in this one could be much worse.