EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Kansas City Chiefs didn't change quarterbacks on Sunday from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes. They didn't need to.
Smith looked more like the MVP candidate he was early in the season than the struggling quarterback he's been in recent weeks. It took him less than five minutes to throw two touchdown passes, or one more than he'd thrown in the last two games combined.
Smith later threw touchdown passes of 79 and 40 yards to Tyreek Hill, and the four TD passes overall allowed him to tie his single-season best of 23, set in his first Chiefs season in 2013. He threw for 366 yards, and also had a 70-yard scramble in the second quarter to set up a field goal.
Still it wasn't enough. The Chiefs lost their fourth straight game and sixth in their past seven, 38-31 to the New York Jets.
At 6-6 overall, their games don't get any more critical than the next two, both at home against AFC West opponents. They face the Oakland Raiders next Sunday and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15.
Smith said he wasn't motivated Sunday by any talk that he might be replaced by Mahomes if the Chiefs didn't snap out of their offensive slump.
"Zero extra [pressure]," Smith said. "If you've got to have some extra mo or something, absolutely not. I haven't thought about it. I'm trying to go out and play good ball. I realize the last couple of weeks on offense hasn't been good enough for us. You're [eager] to get back on track. You're [eager] to get it going again and get back to playing the way we know we can play.
"We've been in some close ones, a bunch here lately, and come out on the wrong side. Just keep fighting and try to find a way. Obviously we know we have a couple of big division games coming up. We've got to assess this and then we've got to get ready."
The Chiefs' 31 points were more than they've had in a game since Week 5. But the Chiefs' defense collapsed, allowing almost 500 yards to the Jets. New York converted 13 of 20 third-down plays, and the Chiefs committed eight penalties.
Four of Kansas City's penalties were on the Jets' go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. They at one point made the Jets kick a field goal but nose tackle Bennie Logan was penalized for unnecessary roughness, giving the Jets a fresh set of downs.
The Chiefs had a similar penalty-filled final drive in their October loss to the Oakland Raiders.
"There is a little frustration there," coach Andy Reid said. "I'm not saying [the penalties] shouldn't have been called ... but they were called and after awhile you're down there, you're competing and we've had a couple of games where we've had that."
They also changed their offensive playcaller from Reid to coordinator Matt Nagy. That didn't appear to make much of a difference. The Chiefs did get the two early touchdown passes, both to Travis Kelce. But both came in Kansas City's first 15 snaps. The Chiefs generally script those plays well before kickoff; they are not selected in the moment.