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Chiefs beat Jets 35-21 in Madden simulation as Kansas City looks to end two-game skid
A Madden simulation has the Chiefs beating the Jets 35-21 behind five Mahomes touchdowns. Kansas City is a heavy favorite to end its two-game skid Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs needed a get-right week, and the video game version delivered one. In SB Nation's weekly Madden simulation, written by Kramer Sansone, Kansas City beat the New York Jets 35-21 at Arrowhead. Patrick Mahomes went 26 of 30 for 320 yards and five touchdowns, with one interception.
The simulated game was over early. Mahomes found Travis Kelce for two first-half touchdowns, and Xavier Worthy took a corner route 50 yards for a score before halftime. Kenneth Walker added a short touchdown on a screen in the third quarter, and Worthy caught his second touchdown early in the fourth to make it 35-7. Walker finished with 166 yards from scrimmage, and Kelce had 87 receiving yards. The defense sacked Geno Smith six times, with six different players getting one, and Jadon Canady picked him off. New York's best play was a 76-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall, who finished with 119 rushing yards in his return from a quad injury. The Jets scored twice late, after the game was decided.
One detail from the simulation won't match Sunday. Rookie Mansoor Delane, who recorded a sack on a blitz in the sim, has been ruled out on the Chiefs' final injury report, according to Yahoo Sports. Kansas City will need its pass rush to produce without him against a Jets offense that leaned on Hall in the simulated game.
What it means for Sunday
The real Chiefs come in at 5-2 but have lost two straight on the road. They lost 20-3 at Seattle, their lowest-scoring game of the season, and then 28-24 at Denver, three weeks after beating the Broncos 31-10 at home. Before the skid, Kansas City had won five straight, including a 22-6 home win over the Chargers. All three of its home games so far have been wins.
The board for Sunday's game shows how heavily Kansas City is favored, across 12 venues. On Novig the Chiefs are favored at -456 on the moneyline, and Polymarket has the best price anywhere at -439. That puts about 17 cents of separation between those two venues on the favorite. The Jets are +426 on Novig. On the spread, Novig lists Kansas City at -9.5, and BetRivers gives the Jets the best number available, +10 at -108. Novig's total sits at 48.5, while FanDuel has 47.5 on the over. The simulated 56 points would clear both. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.0% to 5.7% on the moneyline and from 3.1% to 5.0% on the spread.
The schedule stays demanding after this. Kansas City travels to Atlanta on Nov. 15, and the early board for that game has the Chiefs favored at -190 on Novig and -170 at DraftKings, the best price anywhere. The spread is about a field goal. Sunday's game against New York, on CBS, is Kansas City's chance to stop the slide before that trip.