Now in his 10th NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is experiencing an 0-2 start for the first time after his team’s 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
That mark weighed on his mind when he spoke after the game.
“We are very competitive, and we all want to win,” Jones told reporters. “But we’re still 0-2 — and I think a lot of players are holding themselves accountable. We’re a competitive team, so I think we’re eager to figure this thing out and get back on the right track.”
For much of the past few seasons, conversations about the Chiefs’ victories have often turned to what is perceived to be help from officials. But after Sunday, that narrative may shift to the Eagles. Philadelphia’s offense is famous for its short-yardage tush push plays, which are almost impossible for a defense to stop within league rules.
On Sunday, the Eagles ran this play seven times — but in multiple instances, their guards were moving ahead of the snap.
While Jones isn’t happy about it, he understands that the defense’s responsibility does not depend on the officials’ performance.
“Sometimes, they can’t get all the calls right,” he offered, “and just because we see it, sometimes the official is 15 to 20 ft away — [and] sometimes, they can miss those small things. We think he jumped multiple times, so an official didn’t see it. So it wasn’t called. You know, we’ve [still] just got to go play the next down.”
In the game’s final tush push, Kansas City defenders believed linebacker Drue Tranquill came out of the pile with the football. Should these teams meet in the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons, Jones thinks the Chiefs will be more successful than most others against the play.
“We actually stopped it a couple of times today,” he declared. “More than once — even the last one, [when] we thought we had the ball. We stopped them. So if we see them again, hopefully we’re stopping them more.”
While the team did not come out with a win, the defense undoubtedly played better than it did against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. After the Chargers gained 394 yards in Brazil, the Eagles only got 216 total yards on Sunday. While he’s encouraged by the step forward, Jones knows that more improvements are needed.
“I think we made some progression,” he said. “[It’s] not all right. We’ve still got areas we can get better in, but small progression is still progression.”
One encouraging sign came from rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott, who delivered a monster sack on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the third quarter. Since Norman-Lott missed the Week 1 contest with an injury, Sunday marked his first NFL action.
“It was a very physical sack,” Jones observed. “He’s a huge guy. With that ability — I think we drafted [him] in second round just for that. [He] came out and made a big statement today. [It’s] something we can build off of [as we] add him to the rotation. Glad to have him back.”
The Chiefs will try for their first win of the season next Sunday against the New York Giants, who are also 0-2. Jones sees it as an opportunity.
“I think this is a moment for us to even come together as a team,” he explained. “A little adversity is tough. But adversity builds character — and we can come together. We’ve got the team. We’ve got the guys to figure this out and make a change. It’s only first quarter of the season.
“It’s two games. You’ve got 17 games, so it’s a long journey ahead. We can figure this thing out — and get back on the right track with a win this week.”
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