Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs Running Game Grind Out Win At Jets

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The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 3-1 on Sunday night with a road victory over the New York Jets. All in all, the game could not have started out any better for Kansas City. The defense forced punts on the first few New York drives. Meanwhile, the Chiefs offense scored two touchdowns on long plays from Isiah Pacheco and Noah Gray. But after a 17-0 lead for KC, things started to get a bit ugly, and the Jets gained momentum in the second quarter. It was Pacheco, the team’s best running back, and the entire ground game that grinded out the Chiefs win, overall.

Kansas City will certainly take the win. It is difficult to win in this league, of course. Yet, there are many items that the Chiefs have to improve on after this week. It was a performance that was met with more frustration than anything. Once again, that is astonishing to think about, given the Chiefs were up on the Jets 17-0 at one point.

What were the major differences in Kansas City defeating New York? Plus, why was the showing of Isiah Pacheco so significant? Let’s kick it off.

Pacheco Has Career Day In Familiar Territory

It was an exciting night for second year running back Isiah Pacheco. The trip to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey was the first of his career. This was a return to his home state. Pacheco played high school football at Vineland, New Jersey. And obviously, with playing his college football career at Rutgers, the rusher’s home games in college were played roughly 45 minutes south of MetLife Stadium. To say that he was pumped to play in this environment, it would be an understatement.

In total, it was a career night for Isiah Pacheco. Kansas City was certainly facing a stingy New York secondary. Pacheco was relied on even greater with his legs, as he received a great amount of touches. That resulted in a career-high 115 rushing yards. To boot, this was just the second time in Pacheco’s career that he finished with over 100 rushing yards in one game. The other time, a game at the Los Angeles Chargers last year, was also on Sunday Night Football.

Rarely, if ever, do you see the Chiefs offense leaning on the running game to grind out a win. But in this case, the New Jersey native was the biggest difference in Kansas City winning a battle that ended up being closer than it originally started. Perhaps, that gives Isiah Pacheco even more confidence, as his second campaign rolls on.

Mahomes Makes Up For Mistakes With His Legs

Last night was one of the worst performances we have seen by Patrick Mahomes in a good while. His throws were all over the place. He had a pair of interceptions that were uncharacteristically bad. And for whatever reason, Mahomes appeared to make ill-advised decisions, forcing things that you do not usually see from him. It was a night where he was going up against a talented Jets defense. Nonetheless, Mahomes made some mistakes and had to grind it out in a similar fashion to the aforementioned Isiah Pacheco.

After some early mistakes with his arm, Mahomes utilized his legs to grind out the win for Kansas City. On the final drive of the game, Kansas City started with possession with 7:24 to go on the clock. Amazingly, the Chiefs did not score on that last possession. Mahomes and the offense had a 15-play drive. And even though they never scored, he iced out the game with his sneaky-good rushing ability.

When he took off and ran was key. Mahomes had a 25-yard gain and a nine-yard gain on two separate carries. Obviously, these were both monumental, due to the fact that each run came on third down. Each gain was also just enough to move the sticks for a first down. It is honestly incredible how every time that Mahomes decides to take off and run in those moments, he knows exactly how many yards he needs to get to move the chains.

KC Defense Continues To Be Stout In Key Categories

It was an interesting result for the Chiefs defense on Sunday night. They started out tremendously. Kansas City forced New York to punt on its first three possessions. And even with the 10 points allowed to the Jets offense in the first half, it was mistakes by the Chiefs offense that led to New York receiving momentum. The Jets kicked a field goal after a safety allowed by the KC offense. Finally, the only touchdown for New York’s offense in the first half resulted after receiving a short field after Mahomes’ first interception.

Once again, KC’s defense was stout in a couple of key categories. They were still able to get off the field on third down a majority of the time. Additionally, a couple of third down stops were in spots with shorter yards to go to move the chains. The Jets ended up finishing five of 12 on third down attempts, just under 50 percent. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were still able to keep the Jets from scoring a touchdown on all three red zone trips. New York settled for a field goal on one particular drive. With their hot start and stingy defense in those key categories, Kansas City can be counted on greatly to win games with their defense, if necessary.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.