Isiah Pacheco accounted for a career-best 158 total yards and scored on a long run to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday night at East Rutherford, N.J.
Patrick Mahomes passed for 203 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Noah Gray as the Chiefs (3-1) prevailed despite blowing a 17-point first-quarter lead.
Pacheco rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 43 yards.
Harrison Butker kicked three field goals for Kansas City, including a 26-yarder that gave the Chiefs a 23-20 lead with 10:51 left in the game.
Zach Wilson was 28-of-39 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns for the Jets while once again starting in place of injured Aaron Rodgers. Allen Lazard and C.J. Uzomah caught scoring passes for New York (1-3).
Mahomes rushed for 51 yards on seven attempts, completed 18 of 30 passes and threw two interceptions. The touchdown throw to Gray was the 200th scoring pass of Mahomes’ career and it came in his 84th game. The only others to reach 200 in fewer than 100 games were Hall of Famer Dan Marino (89) and Rodgers (99).
After Butker’s go-ahead field goal, New York was at the Chiefs 49-yard line when Wilson dropped a shotgun snap and Kansas City’s Tershawn Wharton recovered at the Jets 47 with 7:24 remaining.
The Chiefs then converted three crucial third downs on a 15-play drive that ran out the clock.
On third-and-23, Mahomes scrambled for 25 yards to the New York 35. Then on third-and-20 from the Jets 40, Mahomes was picked off by Michael Carter II but a defensive holding call on Sauce Gardner nullified the interception.
After the two-minute warning, Kansas City faced third-and-8 at the 11 and Mahomes scrambled 9 yards to the 2. He purposely slid to the turf instead of scoring and the Chiefs ran out the clock.
The Jets’ recovery from a 17-point deficit began when they scored on a safety with 13:20 left in the first half. Kansas City offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor was flagged for grabbing the facemask of New York’s Bryce Huff in the Chiefs’ end zone.
The Jets added a 31-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein with 9:50 remaining in the half and Ashtyn Davis intercepted Mahomes on the next offensive snap. The pick set up Wilson’s 1-yard scoring pass to Uzomah to pull New York within 17-12 with 6:26 to play in the half.
Butker kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:15 left as the Chiefs took a 20-12 lead into the break.
The Jets began the second half by moving 75 yards on seven plays. Wilson capped the drive with a 10-yard scoring pass to Lazard and then Wilson dove in for a successful two-point conversion run to tie it.
Earlier, the Chiefs received a 37-yard field goal from Butker on their first possession and increased the lead to 10-0 when Pacheco ran 48 yards for a touchdown on third-and-1 with 8:32 left in the opening quarter.
Mahomes hit Gray from 34 yards out with 3:24 left in the period.
–Field Level Media
