Kenneth Walker scores 3 TDs as the Chiefs roll past the woeful Jets 35-12 to end their 2-game skid

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes walked off the field dangling his right arm, which had been bent grotesquely on a strip-sack by the Jets' David Bailey, and for the briefest of moments a pall seemed to descend over Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

Mahomes flexed his ailing elbow on the sideline. Threw a couple of warmup passes. Then headed back into the game.

The two-time MVP proceeded to throw for 242 yards with pair of touchdown passes to Kenneth Walker, who alleviated some of the pressure on Mahomes by adding 102 yards rushing and a score on the ground, while Kansas City's defense dominated the second half to finish off a 35-12 rout of the Jets that served to get the Chiefs back on track.

Walker finished with 143 yards from scrimmage and the Chiefs (6-2) sacked Geno Smith five times, all while keeping the Jets out of the end zone and allowing them to erase the stink of consecutive losses to the Seahawks and Broncos.

“If I’m able to play, I’m going to play. That’s part of the game,” said Mahomes, who got his elbow worked on during halftime by Chiefs trainer Julie Frymyer, but still planned to get more testing on it after the game. “Once I threw the football, I knew I was OK.”

Much to the relief of the Chiefs, who lost Mahomes to a season-ending knee injury just over a year ago.

Smith finished with 165 yards passing for the Jets (2-7), who managed just 229 of total offense. They were credited with minus-9 in the third quarter, when Kansas City scored a pair of touchdowns that turned a 14-12 halftime lead into a comfortable victory.

“You're coming off two losses there, and I felt like we had a good week of practice, and they didn't hang their heads,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team was roundly criticized for blowing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead in Denver. “My hat goes off to the guys.”

The Chiefs have beaten New York, losers of four straight, in each of their last three meetings.

“I thought in the first half guys were making plays. We were playing with a lot of pride and a lot of spirit,” said Smith, who has been sacked 28 times for a league-high 236 yards this season. “I thought the same thing in the second half. It just got away from us.”

Missing star wide receiver Garrett Wilson to a concussion, the Jets were reduced to running the ball with Braelon Allen or Breece Hall — back from a quadriceps injury for the first time in five games — or having Smith throw short passes to rookie Omar Cooper Jr.

They were able to move the ball that way for a while. They just couldn't get into the end zone.

One week after Jason Sanders kicked four field goals in a loss to the Raiders, he made four in the first half alone in Kansas City. And it would have been five had Sanders not missed from 53 yards with less than a minute to go in the first half.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, lost a fumble when backup quarterback Justin Fields was trying a sneak on third-and-1. They lost another when Mahomes was sacked by Bailey for the second time in three plays — the strip-sack that left the QB hurting. And the Chiefs watched as embattled kicker Harrison Butker miss yet another field-goal attempt in the first half.

Butker actually missed twice: He got a do-over after missing from 56 yards because of a penalty, then missed again, casting his future with the team into greater doubt. The Chiefs recently signed former All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad.

“No need to ask,” Reid said of a brewing kicking controversy. “I'm not making any decisions about that today.”

It was thanks to Walker, who was largely held in check by Seattle and Denver, that Kansas City took a lead into the break. His first touchdown reception came on the first play of the second quarter, and his second was a 25-yard screen pass in which offensive guards Trey Smith and Kingsley Suamataia laid down a trail of pancakes for him to follow.

“Honestly, the first half we were making a lot of mistakes,” Walker said. “At halftime, we straightened everything out.”

Walker ended up doing most of the work on a 60-yard TD drive to start the second half, though it was a lateral by Mahomes along the line of scrimmage to Travis Kelce on fourth-and-goal at the New York 1 that finally got the Chiefs into the end zone.

They put the game out of reach later in the third quarter, after a 69-yard punt return was wiped out by penalty. Walker carried six times on an eight-play, 82-yard march, and his touchdown run to make it 28-12 gave him his third career three-TD game.

“I thought the first half everything was kind of on point. The second half we just didn’t play up to par,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “It is disappointing, and I told our players that. All we can do is go back to work. That’s the only thing I know how to do. In situations like this, just go back to work and try to figure out how, as the head coach, get us to play two halves at a high level.

"That’s something I have to think long and hard about. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. Just looking forward to getting back to work.”

Jets: Wilson (concussion) was inactive. So were LB Trevin Wallace (groin), DE Joseph Ossai (ankle) and CB Nahshon Wright (back).

Chiefs: CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder) and DL Peter Woods (concussion) were inactive. RT Jaylen Moore hurt his ankle. WR Xavier Worthy left in the closing minutes with a left hamstring injury.

Jets: Face Buffalo at home next Sunday.

Chiefs: Visit Atlanta next Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Kansas City Chiefs safety Alohi Gilman (17) celebrates after recovering a fumble during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs from Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill (23) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

New York Jets running back Breece Hall is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Kristian Fulton, left, during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III (9) breaks a tackle by New York Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) during a touchdown run in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Barcelona midfielder Fermín López delivered in a big match again, helping the Spanish league leader to come from behind in a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In the Premier League, Manchester United gave another erratic performance which was capped by a stunning late comeback.

Spanish league matches were marked by tributes for Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel, who died after a second division game on Monday.

In Italy, Napoli’s lackluster form continued in a 1-1 draw at home with Lazio that consolidated the visiting team’s Serie A lead.

The 23-year-old Fermín stood out in a match between the best attack and the best defense in La Liga.

Atletico, which had conceded just eight goals heading into the game, dominated early and took the lead with Giuliano Simeone’s goal. Barcelona struggled to find a way past the packed Atletico’s defense until Fermín leveled with a precise, left-footed curler before the interval.

He completed the turnaround in the 66th minute after Lamine Yamal set him up inside the box behind the back of the defense.

The win kept Barcelona at the top, three points ahead of Real Madrid. Atletico is in third place, five points behind Barcelona.

Earlier, referee César Soto Grado stopped Real Betis’ La Liga match at Elche in the ninth minute for fans, players, team staff and officials to pay tribute to De Miguel, who died after an on-field collision during Tenerife’s match on Monday.

There were similar tributes in the ninth minute of all Spanish league games this weekend – De Miguel wore the No. 9 – while his death was also mourned in pre-game tributes.

Late goals from Rodrigo Riquelme and Marc Bartra gave Betis a 2-0 win to consolidate fourth place.

Lazio forward Davide Frattesi fired in his team's opener in the 28th minute after Tijjani Noslin on the left played him in against the lethargic-looking Napoli defense.

The home supporters made their ire known but watched as the team clawed itself level through Alfonso Pedraza’s own-goal after the break. The goal staved off a third straight defeat for Napoli. But coach Massimiliano Allegri will remain under pressure with just four wins and three draws from 11 Serie A games so far.

Lazio – which remained unbeaten alongside crosstown rival Roma two points behind – stayed top with a one-point lead over Inter Milan, which defeated Como 2-0. Pio Esposito put his team ahead and Marcus Thuram doubled the lead in the 19th minute. The loss put an end to Como's six-match winning streak across all competitions.

Juventus drew 2-2 with Fiorentina in the Derby d’Italia and Christian Pulisic scored in AC Milan's 2-1 win at Genoa. Nikola Krstović's goal was enough for Atalanta to beat Monza 1-0 away.

After staging a dramatic comeback to beat Roma 3-2 midweek, Manchester United rallied from two goals down to secure a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

United conceded two goals in less than four minutes at the start of the game, fought back to level before halftime, then conceded two more goals before Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu found the net in stoppage time to salvage a point. The Red Devils are in the relegation zone before the international break, with just one win from 10 games.

Elsewhere, Chelsea lost 1-0 at Sunderland to leave coach Xabi Alonso under increasing pressure, and Liverpool won 3-1 at Crystal Palace.

Patrik Schick sealed a 2-1 “little Rhine derby” win for Bayer Leverkusen in Cologne with a late strike before Cologne star Said El Mala made it exciting again in stoppage time.

The win will bring relief for Leverkusen coach Carles Martínez after two straight defeats at home. High-flying Freiburg beat struggling Union Berlin 2-0

Nathan Ngoy scored the winner for Lille to beat Rennes 2-1 away and keep some pressure on French league leader Paris Saint-Germain. Lille is two points behind the defending champion after 10 rounds.

Striker Keyliane Abdallah got the winner for Marseille in a 2-1 win at Lens as Marseille moved up to fourth place, five points behind PSG.

Monaco dropped points in added time, drawing 1-1 at Le Mans.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick applauds supporters after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Aston Villa in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund, left, and Lazio's Oliver Provstgaard in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lazio in Naples, Italy, Sunday Nov. 8, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio's Davide Frattesi, center, celebrates scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lazio in Naples, Italy, Sunday Nov. 8, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio's Davide Frattesi, and Napoli's Mathias Olivera in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lazio in Naples, Italy, Sunday Nov. 8, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay, second left, scores during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lazio in Naples, Italy, Sunday Nov. 8, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)