The Chiefs visit the New York Jets for the first time since Brett Favre's one-and-done season in the Big Apple. This time, both teams are better than they were then, but that doesn't mean all that much for the Chiefs, considering they only won 2 games in 2008.
A lot has changed since then. Herm Edwards was the Chiefs head coach, Eric Mangini the Jets coach. Larry Johnson was still around and Thomas Jones was wearing 'gangreen.' And while there have been many other changes on both sides on Sunday, the New York media wants to take credit for the Chiefs resurrection over the past few seasons.
The title of a post written about the Chiefs visiting the Meadowlands was: 'Jets Midwest' coming to MetLife. Jets Midwest? Sorry New York, but New England already was dibs. When a team goes through a reinvention, many organizations want to take credit. Whether it be ideology or stealing of the coaching staff, teams want to believe they had a hand in it.
Well, if the Jets want to take credit for it, then they have to live with the team they helped create. And with the Chiefs getting virtually no respect on the road against the Jets, wouldn't it be something to see the creation destroy the creator? Unfortunately, if there's any common trait between the Jets and Chiefs, it would be inconsistency.
The Chiefs are 5-7, and a large part of that losing record has been the injuries. But past the injuries has been the inconsistency. The defense has began to turn on over the last few weeks, but the offense hasn't found consistency at all, unless you are making an argument for being consistently awful. Even before Cassel's injury, the Chiefs had trouble scoring touchdowns. Since then, it's been one Hail Mary away from a Palko-offense shutout. In fact, the Chiefs are 30th in the NFL in scoring, having collected a total of 163 points, over 250 less than the NFL-leading Green Bay Packers.
The Jets offense has had its share of inept performances this season as well. It's been a roller coaster year for 2009 first round pick Mark Sanchez. And while he always seems to find a way to get to the AFC Championship game, it's been mostly at the consent of the defense. As stagnant as the Chiefs offense has been most of the season, Sanchez's Jets only average ten more yards a game than the Chiefs.
Despite that staggering stat by the Chiefs, the coaching staff is trying to keep things positive in the locker room and in the media. "We're coming on at the right time," coach Todd Haley said. "If we can figure out a way to win -- pretty, ugly or indifferent -- we have a chance."
If you want to believe Haley or not doesn't matter, the team's performance on the field does.
Game Notes:
Tyler Palko: 229/405 (62.7%) 601 yards, 1 TD, 6 INTs
Mark Sanchez: 64/102 (56.5%) 2,678 yards, 19 TDs, 11 INTs
Jackie Battle: 115 carries, 471 yards (4.1 ypc), 1 TD
Shonn Greene: 183 carries, 739 yards (4.0 ypc), 5 TDs
Dwayne Bowe: 59 catches, 868 yards, 4 TDs
Dustin Keller: 43 catches, 586 yards, 4 TDs
Chiefs Defense: 12th against Pass (213.8 ypg); 25th against Run (130.3 ypg)
Jets Defense: 7th against Pass (204.6 ypg); 15th against Run (112.9 ypg)
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