Re: Flying Through the Big Apple - RoundingThird's New York Jets (M17)
Gameday Recap: Jets 24, Chiefs 9
A defensive domination results in an AFC Championship!
Just like the last meeting between these two teams, the Jets got on a board with a safety. Muhammad Wilkerson slams DeShone Kizer to the ground on the first play of the second quarter, cutting the Chiefs lead to 3-2, but it was only the start for the 2017 AFC Champion New York Jets.
The New York Jets are going to the Super Bowl. That feels so good to say. It’s been 49 years since somebody has said that. In 2009 and 2010, the Jets reached the AFC Championship under a quarterback named Mark Sanchez and coach named Rex Ryan, but in both cases, they couldn’t get to the promised land, losing to Peyton Manning’s Colts and ten the year after to Big Ben’s Steelers. But, 2017 is different. This time, the Jets went to the home of the league’s best team, which also happens to be the league’s loudest stadium. And, in the icy winter air, their defense suffocated the Chiefs’ rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, while their offense made the plays they needed to send the Jets to only their second Super Bowl ever. There wasn’t even a touchdown scored by either team until the 4th quarter. I can’t wait to celebrate, but first, this game is worth recapping.
The Chiefs took the ball first, and almost instantly, Jamaal Charles broke one off, cutting the corner on the Jets secondary. By time the Jets tracked him down, Kansas City was already in striking distance. But, the Jets held, and Mike Nugent had to attempt a long field goal. Dee Milliner came within inches of blocking the first kick of the season for the Jets, but the longtime NFL kicker did what he had to do to get the ball up and in. It didn’t seem like much, but we were only three minutes into the game, and the Jets defense had already given up a big play. If you remember, the Jets allowed 21 points in the 1st quarter of last week’s game against the Steelers, and this wasn’t a very encouraging start. But, the Jets came out swinging. The first play from scrimmage for the Jets was an outside handoff to Gurley, but Mariota came right up to the line and audibled into a pass. But, that still wasn’t good enough. Upon getting the snap from Nick Mangold, he saw that he had nobody open, and instead of just throwing it up to somebody in double coverage, he slid out of the pocket to his left, where he had nothing but green grass in front of him. 25 yards later, he scampered out of bounds to avoid the wrath of Justin Houston. On the next play, he came right back out, and fired a bullet to Adam Shaheen over the middle for a big gain, working the ball into the red zone on just two plays. Only then did the Jets establish the run game with Gurley. He got them down to the three, but then the Jets struggled to get the ball in, like they have all year from close range. A run was stuffed, then a pass was batted down, bringing up 3rd down. Mariota got out of the pocket right, but knew that an attempt to run it in would fail. He had a chance to get it to Gurley in the flat, but by time he saw him, it was too late, as Gurley had run into coverage. As Derrick Johnson closed on him, ready to attack, Mariot launched one to Adam Shaheen in a very tight window. And, expectedly, it was snagged by Ron Parker in the end zone before Shaheen had a chance at it. The Jets did catch a break when Parker’s momentum brought him out to the 2 yard line, instead of being a touchback.
As Mariota gets rocked in the background, Ron Parker ends the Jets opening drive in the end zone, stepping in front of Adam Shaheen.
To their credit, the New York defense came right out and forced a quick three and out, and Mike Williams brought the punt back across midfield. The Jets began their drive on the onset of field goal range, and actually worked themselves into the range of Nick Folk, but an untimely sack of Mariota by Dontari Poe on third down forced Lachlan Edwards to come out for a punt. It was a beauty, spinning to a stop at the two yard line after De’Anthony Thomas let it go. Wanting a safety, the Jets brought the house on first down, but Jamaal Charles managed to squirm ahead for a gain of a yard. But, then, DeShone Kizer made his first of a couple rookie mistakes on the day. He rolled out right, looking for somebody to throw to, but just held onto the ball too long. Mo Wilkerson brought him down from his blind side, and the Jets got their safety, cutting the lead to 3-2 on the very first play of the second quarter. Punting into the wind, Dustin Colquitt gave the Jets good field position to start their next drive, but after chipping away at the vaunted KC defense, primarily on the ground, the Jets had to settle for a field goal after once again falling short from within striking distance. Folk’s 40 yarder made it 5-3 New York, with a little more than half of the second quarter still to play. The Chiefs countered with a very similar drive, chipping away, taking what the stingy Jets defense gave them, before a 22 yard connection from Kizer to Adam Humphries opened things up a little. Charles broke free on the next play, breaking two tackles, and almost a third that would have gotten him into the end zone, being brought down by Marcus Gilchrist as the clock hit two minutes. It was first and goal from the 5, and Kizer gave back up HB Charcandrick West a chance, and it took a team of Jets to prevent him from crossing the plane of the goal line. That same Jets front seven stuffed Charles on second down, before bringing pressure and forcing Kizer to throw it out of the end zone on third down. With 93 seconds left in the first half, Mike Nugent gave KC a 6-5 lead with an 18 yard field goal, the shortest possible in the game of football.
The Jets were thinking possibly of playing it safe, knowing that the ball was theirs to start the second half, but when Marcus Peters grabbed Mike Williams facemask on the kick return, the Jets decided it was worth a shot to go for points before the break. Starting at their own 40, the Jets once again made quick work of it, only needing three plays to get into field goal range, aided by a big run by Todd Gurley in an heavy passing situation. After the third false start of the day, and second of the drive by the Jets’ offensive line, struggling to hear Mariota’s snap call in the midst of the loudest fans in football, the Jets came to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t be scoring a touchdown before halftime. Mariota hit Devin Smith on the right side of the field short of the first down, making it fourth down anyway. After milking the clock down to three seconds, Coach Bowles burned a time out before sending Folk out for an easy 33 yard attempt with the wind at his back. The Jets kicker, who has had an absolutely phenomenal season, pounded it straight down the middle, and gave the Jets an 8-6 lead going into the break, with that earlier safety acting as the difference in the game.
On their first drive of the second half, the Jets found themselves with a 3rd and 2 at the Kansas City 7 yard line. Gurley took the ball straight up the middle, but was turned away before he could get the yardage he needed for a first down. The Jets came out to go for it on 4th down, but after yet another false start, the 4th of the afternoon, Bowles had no choice but to send Folk out again, this time for a 27 yarder. It was a different length, but same result: Dead center. 11-6 Jets. But, then, on the next drive, the Jets finally got some life. You see, the Jets defensive line of Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson, Steve McLendon, and Deon Simon were basically camping out in the backfield all afternoon. It was only a matter of time before Kizer made a mistake. He tried a head fake to shake Marcus Gilchrist, but Gilchrist didn’t bite, and Kizer threw it up anyway to avoid another sack. Gilchrist stepped in front of it, giving the Jets the ball inside the Kansas City 30. But, just like the Jets defense had done after their offense turned it over, the Chiefs held strong. A three and out led to Nick Folk’s 4th field goal attempt of the day, and resulted in his 4th make, adding this 44 yarder to his collection, making it an 8 point game, 14-6, with 4 minutes left to play in the third quarter, without the benefit of a touchdown for either team.
Gilchrist cuts in front of De'Anthony Thomas to grab his first interception of the day, as Marcus Williams watched from behind.
The Chiefs went on a long drive, bringing an end to the third, and the arrival of the fourth quarter. The Achilles heel of the Jets this season, besides the weak secondary, has been getting stops on third down, and they had fallen into that rut again on this drive. As the Chiefs crossed midfield, the Jets were hoping to hold KC to a field goal, knowing that they were going into the wind. They had a devil of a time consistently containing Jamaal Charles, and know, DeShone Kizer was finally beginning to play like the man who led the Chiefs to a 14-2 record in the regular season. A third down completion to De’Anthony Thomas, against a Jets blitz, brought Kansas City down across the 35, near the 30, in range for Nugent, albeit not a guaranteed lock. The Jets knew if they could get a sack, they could force the Chiefs into a punt. And once they did, on third down no less, the Jets started to feel like they had this game. The Pro Bowl team of Williams bore down on Kizer together, and the rookie had absolutely nowhere to go. It was Wilkerson that actually brought him down, but Williams was as important to that play as Wilkerson was. Out came Colquitt to punt, and the best he could do, trying to pin the Jets inside the five, was to angle one out of bounds at the 13 yard line.
DeShone Kizer is met by the Jets two best pass rushers as he realizes that the best decision in this scenario is to just sit down and take his medicine rather than throwing something up into coverage.
With 8 minutes to go in the game, the Jets had a good feeling, but they wanted to make it a two score game just to be sure. Gurley broke free outside on a similar play that Charles found success on during the game’s first drive, and two plays later, Mariota unleashed a strike to Vincent Jackson over the middle while being absolutely drilled by Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe, a huge third down conversion. But, the game wasn’t over yet. On another outside toss to Gurley, Justin Houston came in and basically just punched the ball out of his hands. The Chiefs recovered at the 40 yard line, and had some life. But, a pattern had formed in this game. The Jets defense continued their impressive performance, holding Kansas City to a field goal, instead of a potentially game-tying touchdown and two point conversion. With 5:17 to go, Nugent cut the Jets lead down to 14-9, but little did he know that those points would be the last points the Chiefs would score all season. You see, we finally had our breakthrough touchdown.
The Chiefs Kingdom was brought back to life when Justin Houston used his mitts to punch the ball free of Todd Gurley's grasp, but the KC offense just couldn't capitalize the way they wanted to.
Jace Amaro had been fairly quiet all day, but he ran a post in one-on-one coverage with Eric Berry. That alone was good enough for Mariota to get it to him, but then Amaro took off. He caught Berry off guard with a quick cut inside before even catching the ball, and once he did corral it, he was gone, as Berry was the last line of defense. He showboated a little bit as he approached the end zone, knowing that he might have just sent the Jets to Super Bowl LII. The touchdown made it 21-9, and a last minute desperation drive by the Chiefs ended with a DeShone Kizer pass being tipped about 5 times in the end zone before Marcus Gilchrist finally wrapped his hands around it for interception #2. The Jets didn’t let the Chiefs offense get back out on the field, and added an unnecessary 56 yard field goal as time expired to force their will, showing the Chiefs, and the NFL, just how good the can be when their defense plays up to its ability, and their offense controls the turnovers.
Jace Amaro beats Eric Berry on an instep, and proceeds to run through the parted Red Sea (literally) for the game's first touchdown.
Marcus Gilchrist seals the deal by snagging his second interception of the day, after his teammates decided to see how long they could tip the ball without somebody catching it.
So, we’re AFC Champions, in year two of the Sam Freday-Todd Bowles era, and year one of the Marcus Mariota era. While the biggest question looming in the offseason is what will happen to Jace Amaro, being an unrestricted free agent, all we can do right now is enjoy the moment, and get ready to take the field on the world’s biggest stage. We’ll see you in two weeks, at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.
Gameday Recap: Jets 24, Chiefs 9
A defensive domination results in an AFC Championship!
Just like the last meeting between these two teams, the Jets got on a board with a safety. Muhammad Wilkerson slams DeShone Kizer to the ground on the first play of the second quarter, cutting the Chiefs lead to 3-2, but it was only the start for the 2017 AFC Champion New York Jets.
The New York Jets are going to the Super Bowl. That feels so good to say. It’s been 49 years since somebody has said that. In 2009 and 2010, the Jets reached the AFC Championship under a quarterback named Mark Sanchez and coach named Rex Ryan, but in both cases, they couldn’t get to the promised land, losing to Peyton Manning’s Colts and ten the year after to Big Ben’s Steelers. But, 2017 is different. This time, the Jets went to the home of the league’s best team, which also happens to be the league’s loudest stadium. And, in the icy winter air, their defense suffocated the Chiefs’ rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, while their offense made the plays they needed to send the Jets to only their second Super Bowl ever. There wasn’t even a touchdown scored by either team until the 4th quarter. I can’t wait to celebrate, but first, this game is worth recapping.
The Chiefs took the ball first, and almost instantly, Jamaal Charles broke one off, cutting the corner on the Jets secondary. By time the Jets tracked him down, Kansas City was already in striking distance. But, the Jets held, and Mike Nugent had to attempt a long field goal. Dee Milliner came within inches of blocking the first kick of the season for the Jets, but the longtime NFL kicker did what he had to do to get the ball up and in. It didn’t seem like much, but we were only three minutes into the game, and the Jets defense had already given up a big play. If you remember, the Jets allowed 21 points in the 1st quarter of last week’s game against the Steelers, and this wasn’t a very encouraging start. But, the Jets came out swinging. The first play from scrimmage for the Jets was an outside handoff to Gurley, but Mariota came right up to the line and audibled into a pass. But, that still wasn’t good enough. Upon getting the snap from Nick Mangold, he saw that he had nobody open, and instead of just throwing it up to somebody in double coverage, he slid out of the pocket to his left, where he had nothing but green grass in front of him. 25 yards later, he scampered out of bounds to avoid the wrath of Justin Houston. On the next play, he came right back out, and fired a bullet to Adam Shaheen over the middle for a big gain, working the ball into the red zone on just two plays. Only then did the Jets establish the run game with Gurley. He got them down to the three, but then the Jets struggled to get the ball in, like they have all year from close range. A run was stuffed, then a pass was batted down, bringing up 3rd down. Mariota got out of the pocket right, but knew that an attempt to run it in would fail. He had a chance to get it to Gurley in the flat, but by time he saw him, it was too late, as Gurley had run into coverage. As Derrick Johnson closed on him, ready to attack, Mariot launched one to Adam Shaheen in a very tight window. And, expectedly, it was snagged by Ron Parker in the end zone before Shaheen had a chance at it. The Jets did catch a break when Parker’s momentum brought him out to the 2 yard line, instead of being a touchback.
As Mariota gets rocked in the background, Ron Parker ends the Jets opening drive in the end zone, stepping in front of Adam Shaheen.
To their credit, the New York defense came right out and forced a quick three and out, and Mike Williams brought the punt back across midfield. The Jets began their drive on the onset of field goal range, and actually worked themselves into the range of Nick Folk, but an untimely sack of Mariota by Dontari Poe on third down forced Lachlan Edwards to come out for a punt. It was a beauty, spinning to a stop at the two yard line after De’Anthony Thomas let it go. Wanting a safety, the Jets brought the house on first down, but Jamaal Charles managed to squirm ahead for a gain of a yard. But, then, DeShone Kizer made his first of a couple rookie mistakes on the day. He rolled out right, looking for somebody to throw to, but just held onto the ball too long. Mo Wilkerson brought him down from his blind side, and the Jets got their safety, cutting the lead to 3-2 on the very first play of the second quarter. Punting into the wind, Dustin Colquitt gave the Jets good field position to start their next drive, but after chipping away at the vaunted KC defense, primarily on the ground, the Jets had to settle for a field goal after once again falling short from within striking distance. Folk’s 40 yarder made it 5-3 New York, with a little more than half of the second quarter still to play. The Chiefs countered with a very similar drive, chipping away, taking what the stingy Jets defense gave them, before a 22 yard connection from Kizer to Adam Humphries opened things up a little. Charles broke free on the next play, breaking two tackles, and almost a third that would have gotten him into the end zone, being brought down by Marcus Gilchrist as the clock hit two minutes. It was first and goal from the 5, and Kizer gave back up HB Charcandrick West a chance, and it took a team of Jets to prevent him from crossing the plane of the goal line. That same Jets front seven stuffed Charles on second down, before bringing pressure and forcing Kizer to throw it out of the end zone on third down. With 93 seconds left in the first half, Mike Nugent gave KC a 6-5 lead with an 18 yard field goal, the shortest possible in the game of football.
The Jets were thinking possibly of playing it safe, knowing that the ball was theirs to start the second half, but when Marcus Peters grabbed Mike Williams facemask on the kick return, the Jets decided it was worth a shot to go for points before the break. Starting at their own 40, the Jets once again made quick work of it, only needing three plays to get into field goal range, aided by a big run by Todd Gurley in an heavy passing situation. After the third false start of the day, and second of the drive by the Jets’ offensive line, struggling to hear Mariota’s snap call in the midst of the loudest fans in football, the Jets came to terms with the fact that they wouldn’t be scoring a touchdown before halftime. Mariota hit Devin Smith on the right side of the field short of the first down, making it fourth down anyway. After milking the clock down to three seconds, Coach Bowles burned a time out before sending Folk out for an easy 33 yard attempt with the wind at his back. The Jets kicker, who has had an absolutely phenomenal season, pounded it straight down the middle, and gave the Jets an 8-6 lead going into the break, with that earlier safety acting as the difference in the game.
On their first drive of the second half, the Jets found themselves with a 3rd and 2 at the Kansas City 7 yard line. Gurley took the ball straight up the middle, but was turned away before he could get the yardage he needed for a first down. The Jets came out to go for it on 4th down, but after yet another false start, the 4th of the afternoon, Bowles had no choice but to send Folk out again, this time for a 27 yarder. It was a different length, but same result: Dead center. 11-6 Jets. But, then, on the next drive, the Jets finally got some life. You see, the Jets defensive line of Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson, Steve McLendon, and Deon Simon were basically camping out in the backfield all afternoon. It was only a matter of time before Kizer made a mistake. He tried a head fake to shake Marcus Gilchrist, but Gilchrist didn’t bite, and Kizer threw it up anyway to avoid another sack. Gilchrist stepped in front of it, giving the Jets the ball inside the Kansas City 30. But, just like the Jets defense had done after their offense turned it over, the Chiefs held strong. A three and out led to Nick Folk’s 4th field goal attempt of the day, and resulted in his 4th make, adding this 44 yarder to his collection, making it an 8 point game, 14-6, with 4 minutes left to play in the third quarter, without the benefit of a touchdown for either team.
Gilchrist cuts in front of De'Anthony Thomas to grab his first interception of the day, as Marcus Williams watched from behind.
The Chiefs went on a long drive, bringing an end to the third, and the arrival of the fourth quarter. The Achilles heel of the Jets this season, besides the weak secondary, has been getting stops on third down, and they had fallen into that rut again on this drive. As the Chiefs crossed midfield, the Jets were hoping to hold KC to a field goal, knowing that they were going into the wind. They had a devil of a time consistently containing Jamaal Charles, and know, DeShone Kizer was finally beginning to play like the man who led the Chiefs to a 14-2 record in the regular season. A third down completion to De’Anthony Thomas, against a Jets blitz, brought Kansas City down across the 35, near the 30, in range for Nugent, albeit not a guaranteed lock. The Jets knew if they could get a sack, they could force the Chiefs into a punt. And once they did, on third down no less, the Jets started to feel like they had this game. The Pro Bowl team of Williams bore down on Kizer together, and the rookie had absolutely nowhere to go. It was Wilkerson that actually brought him down, but Williams was as important to that play as Wilkerson was. Out came Colquitt to punt, and the best he could do, trying to pin the Jets inside the five, was to angle one out of bounds at the 13 yard line.
DeShone Kizer is met by the Jets two best pass rushers as he realizes that the best decision in this scenario is to just sit down and take his medicine rather than throwing something up into coverage.
With 8 minutes to go in the game, the Jets had a good feeling, but they wanted to make it a two score game just to be sure. Gurley broke free outside on a similar play that Charles found success on during the game’s first drive, and two plays later, Mariota unleashed a strike to Vincent Jackson over the middle while being absolutely drilled by Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe, a huge third down conversion. But, the game wasn’t over yet. On another outside toss to Gurley, Justin Houston came in and basically just punched the ball out of his hands. The Chiefs recovered at the 40 yard line, and had some life. But, a pattern had formed in this game. The Jets defense continued their impressive performance, holding Kansas City to a field goal, instead of a potentially game-tying touchdown and two point conversion. With 5:17 to go, Nugent cut the Jets lead down to 14-9, but little did he know that those points would be the last points the Chiefs would score all season. You see, we finally had our breakthrough touchdown.
The Chiefs Kingdom was brought back to life when Justin Houston used his mitts to punch the ball free of Todd Gurley's grasp, but the KC offense just couldn't capitalize the way they wanted to.
Jace Amaro had been fairly quiet all day, but he ran a post in one-on-one coverage with Eric Berry. That alone was good enough for Mariota to get it to him, but then Amaro took off. He caught Berry off guard with a quick cut inside before even catching the ball, and once he did corral it, he was gone, as Berry was the last line of defense. He showboated a little bit as he approached the end zone, knowing that he might have just sent the Jets to Super Bowl LII. The touchdown made it 21-9, and a last minute desperation drive by the Chiefs ended with a DeShone Kizer pass being tipped about 5 times in the end zone before Marcus Gilchrist finally wrapped his hands around it for interception #2. The Jets didn’t let the Chiefs offense get back out on the field, and added an unnecessary 56 yard field goal as time expired to force their will, showing the Chiefs, and the NFL, just how good the can be when their defense plays up to its ability, and their offense controls the turnovers.
Jace Amaro beats Eric Berry on an instep, and proceeds to run through the parted Red Sea (literally) for the game's first touchdown.
Marcus Gilchrist seals the deal by snagging his second interception of the day, after his teammates decided to see how long they could tip the ball without somebody catching it.
So, we’re AFC Champions, in year two of the Sam Freday-Todd Bowles era, and year one of the Marcus Mariota era. While the biggest question looming in the offseason is what will happen to Jace Amaro, being an unrestricted free agent, all we can do right now is enjoy the moment, and get ready to take the field on the world’s biggest stage. We’ll see you in two weeks, at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.
| New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs | |||||
| Jan 21, 2018 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| New York Jets (13-5) | 0 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 24 |
| Kansas City Chiefs (15-3) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| NYJ | KC | |
| Total Offense | 378 | 235 |
| Rushing Yards | 153 | 137 |
| Passing Yards | 225 | 98 |
| First Downs | 17 | 11 |
| Punt Return Yards | 26 | 0 |
| Kick Return Yards | 103 | 67 |
| Total Yards | 507 | 302 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 4-10 (40%) | 4-11 (36%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 4-3-0 (75%) | 3-2-0 (67%) |
| Penalties | 4-20 | 1-15 |
| Posession Time | 26:10 | 21:50 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | KC | |
| 9:08 | (KC) M. Nugent 53 yard FG | 0 | 3 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | KC | |
| 11:55 | (NYJ) Team Safety | 2 | 3 |
| 6:42 | (NYJ) N. Folk 40 yard FG | 5 | 3 |
| 1:33 | (KC) M. Nugent 18 yard FG | 5 | 6 |
| 0:00 | (NYJ) N. Folk 33 yard FG | 8 | 6 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | KC | |
| 6:06 | (NYJ) N. Folk 27 yard FG | 11 | 6 |
| 4:01 | (NYJ) N. Folk 44 yard FG | 14 | 6 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | NYJ | KC | |
| 5:17 | (KC) M. Nugent 34 yard FG | 14 | 9 |
| 3:15 | (NYJ) J. Amaro 62 yard pass from M. Mariota (N. Folk kick) | 21 | 9 |
| 0:00 | (NYJ) N. Folk 56 yard FG | 24 | 9 |
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| New York Jets 2017 Schedule | ||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT | ||
| Sep 10 | vs Atlanta Falcons | Lost, 30-20 | ||
| Sep 17 | at Miami Dolphins | Lost, 27-20 | ||
| Sep 25 | vs Tennessee Titans (MNF) | Won, 45-10 | ||
| Oct 8 | vs New England Patriots | Won, 37-12 | ||
| Oct 15 | vs Oakland Raiders (SNF) | Won, 39-29 | ||
| Oct 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Won, 38-27 | ||
| Oct 29 | vs Miami Dolphins | Won, 37-13 | ||
| Nov 5 | at Buffalo Bills | Lost, 31-17 | ||
| Nov 12 | at Denver Broncos | Won, 40-9 | ||
| Nov 19 | at Los Angeles Chargers | Won, 27-24 (OT) | ||
| Nov 26 | vs Carolina Panthers | Won, 29-21 | ||
| Dec 4 | at New England Patriots (MNF) | Won, 27-24 (OT) | ||
| Dec 10 | vs Kansas City Chiefs | Lost, 20-13 | ||
| Dec 17 | vs Buffalo Bills | Won, 43-40 | ||
| Dec 24 | at New Orleans Saints (SNF) | Lost, 34-8 | ||
| Dec 31 | at Baltimore Ravens | Won, 24-6 | ||
| Jan 13 | vs Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC Divisional) | Won, 44-38 | ||
| Jan 21 | at Kansas City Chiefs (AFC Championship) | Won, 24-9 | ||
| Feb 4 | Super Bowl LII | |||
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