The Kansas City Chiefs will look to get back on track this weekend with a matchup against the New York Jets.

Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.

1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.

The Chiefs will be without defensive tackle Peter Woods (neck stinger), cornerback Mansoor Delane (shoulder) and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) on Sunday.

As for Jets, they'll be without star wide receiver Garrett Wilson (concussion protocol) on Sunday. Wilson currently leads the Jets with an average of 65.9 receiving yards-per-game, and his 43 catches are more than twice as many as the next closest player on the Jets' roster.

2. New York is better than its 2-6 record may indicate.

The Jets are just 2-6 on the season, but that record doesn't tell the full story.

New York is 1-5 in one-score games this season, which includes three one-score losses in a row. It hasn't been due to a lack of scoring, either. The Jets' 58 points since Week 7 rank eighth in the NFL, and New York is one of just two teams in that time to score 50+ points with no wins to show for it.

Last week, for example, New York scored on its first six possessions and went on to tally a season-high 33 points despite ultimately falling to the Raiders.

Jets quarterback Geno Smith has enjoyed a bit of a career renaissance in New York, too. Just take a look at his numbers this season compared to what he compiled in 15 games for the Raiders last year:

2025: 15 games, 19 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions, 67.4% completion percentage, 6.8 yards per-attempt, 84.7 passer rating

2026: 8 games, 12 touchdown passes, 3 interceptions, 69.0% completion percentage, 8.0 yards per-attempt, 104.5 passer rating

Smith has plenty of weapons, too, even with Garrett Wilson already ruled out for Sunday. Wide receiver AD Mitchell, for example, caught seven passes for 142 yards and a touchdown last week. Mitchell did the bulk of that damage on throws deep down the field, and for the season, Smith's 539 passing yards on deep passes lead the NFL (per Next Gen Stats).

3. Jets tailback Braelon Allen has been among the best players in football lately.

One of the primary reasons New York has been consistently competitive this year has been the play of tailback Braelon Allen, who took over starting duties when veteran running back Breece Hall suffered a quad injury in Week 3.

Allen has more than made the most of that opportunity, tallying 574 scrimmage yards as a starter while rushing for at least 100 yards in three of his last four games – including a career-best 147 yards in last week's game against Las Vegas. His 11 runs of at least 15 yards this year rank third in the NFL, and looking at his production a little closer, Allen has racked up 176 yards on runs outside the tackles over the last two weeks.

For some more context, Allen is averaging 100.8 yards-per-game as a starter this season, which trails only Jahmyr Gibbs (110.4), Ken Walker (110.0) and James Cook (101.0).

For what it's worth, however, Hall is set to return this week following his lengthy absence. The Jets' incumbent bell cow and a former 1,000-yard rusher, it's likely he'll see a significant number of touches on Sunday, taking touches away from Allen in the process.

The Jets' strategy on managing that tandem will be something to watch on Sunday, but regardless of who lines up in New York's backfield, Kansas City will need to contain the Jets' rushing attack in order to break the its two-game skid.

4. The Jets are allowing more than 120 yards-per-game on the ground this year.

New York has some playmakers on defense, notably edge-rusher David Bailey, who has 5.5 sacks this year after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft back in April.

The Jets are allowing an average of 123.6 yards-per-game on the ground this season though, which ranks 21st in the NFL, and despite consecutive games with less than 100 yards rushing for Kansas City, the Chiefs still rank fifth in the league with an average of 134.1 rushing yards-per-game.

Looking at some of New York's losses this year, the Jets allowed 232 rushing yards to the Bears in Week 4, 156 rushing yards to the Dolphins in Week 7 and 148 rushing yards to the Patriots in Week 6.

A big day on the ground – which was the hallmark of Kansas City's 5-0 start – could very well be the key to a Chiefs win on Sunday.

5. Kansas City will need to avoid the self-inflicted wounds that led to last week's loss.

The primary reason behind the Chiefs' narrow loss last week to Denver was simple: penalties.

Kansas City was called for 11 penalties that totaled 105 yards last week, its most accepted penalties in a single game since Week 5 of last season at Jacksonville – which, not coincidentally, marked another game the Chiefs comfortably led until a relentless rally dealt Kansas City a loss in a game it likely should have won.

Specifically, personal fouls – so, 15-yard penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct or a facemask – directly led to 18 points for Denver last week.

Those miscues allowed the Broncos to hang around in a game where Kansas City bested Denver in terms of first downs, third-down conversions, total yards, rushing yards, passing yards and time of possession before the Broncos erased the Chiefs' 11-point, fourth-quarter lead.

Still, despite all of that, Kansas City then had the ball at Denver's 1-yard line with three cracks at a game-winning touchdown, but – in somewhat of a cruel exclamation point on the night – a false start penalty wiped out a touchdown pass on fourth down.

So, the good news is that the vast majority of the mistakes that led to last week's loss were completely self-inflicted and controllable. It's just a matter of executing and playing disciplined football the way Kansas City demonstrated during its 5-0 start.

If the Chiefs can manage that on Sunday, it'll give them a great chance to halt the two-game skid and get the season right back on track.