It feels like the NFL season just began and now we are on the cusp of Week 3 of the 2016 NFL season tomorrow night. However, the game I want to look at is on Sunday afternoon as the New York Jets head to Arrowhead Stadium to play their AFC counterparts the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are coming into this game on both ends of the spectrum. On the New York Jets side, they are coming off an impressive win over their AFC rivals, the Buffalo Bills. On the other hand, the Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a painful loss to the Houston Texans. This will be the first time the two AFC teams are clashing in a little bit under two years, the last time these teams faced each other saw the Chiefs beat the Jets by the score of 24-10.
Here are the three keys for each team.
The New York Jets will win if
Stick to the same offense plan that they had in Buffalo
Last Thursday as the New York Jets were putting the beat down on their AFC East rivals. They had an exciting and positive gameplan. It was let’s show what this offense can do and play great on the defense. Their defense on Thursday night showed why they are one of the best AFC defenses, and some could argue, one of the best in the NFL. I don’t see a problem with them sticking to that same game plan as they are now going into the meat of the schedule.
Use Bial Powell more
The only critic I would have from the game in Buffalo is the New York Jets relied heavily on Matt Forte. I understand he is the lead running back, but you need to put Powell in there, if not for anything but to give Forte a rest. The Jets have a shot to make a run this season, and you don’t want to burn Forte out early in the season.
Limit the Chiefs’ passing game
Unlike the Bills who have a mobile quarterback in Taylor, the Chiefs have a Quarterback who doesn’t usually run out of the pocket in Alex Smith. At home, the Chiefs have completed 70% of their passing. For the Jets to not have a long day on the defense side, they need to put pressure on Alex Smith and force him to get out of the pocket. For the secondary, don’t allow that much room for the receivers to be open. Overall, make Alex Smith have a bad day and get him to pass when he doesn’t want to.
The Kansas City Chiefs will win if
Limit the Jets Offense
The Chiefs are dealing with a team that had an offensive explosion last week and is riding in on a positive mark. Last week the Jets held the ball for close to 40 minutes. If you are the Chiefs, you won’t win the game if the Jets are holding the ball for that long . You can avoid this by not allowing them to easily convert on 3rd and 4th downs.
Put pressure on Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick is not a mobile quarterback and if you give him enough time in the pocket, then he can sling the ball down the field very easily, just look at what he did against Buffalo. The Chiefs are going to want to put pressure on him and make him very uncomfortable.
Use the crowd noise towards your advantage
Arrowhead Stadium is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. It is built like a college dome as in the fans are “on top” of you. You can easily get loud enough that it cause a delay of games for the Jets.
Prediction
Being that the Jets are coming in on an incredible high after beating Buffalo, I think they ride that into Arrowhead Stadium. However, I believe the crowd plays a role in the game, and somehow I see the Chiefs winning the game, 27-17. I don’t think it will be that the offense is bad, I just think it will be the crowd will make it tough for the Jets.