This week, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive lineman Chris Jones has caught some heat from both local and national media outlets for what many on social media perceived as a lack of effort on the deciding play of Monday’s 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On that play, Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence tripped after taking the snap at the 1-yard line, then scrambled back to his feet and ran into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
While many blasted Jones online for not pursuing Lawrence, some (including myself) thought that Jones believed the quarterback was already down; his teammates had contained the play.
“It’s a teaching point for me — a little adversity,” Jones said on Thursday, taking responsibility for the mistake. “I can’t think the play is over, you know what I mean? It’s a learning lesson.
“I thought it was over. I thought we had him down, so I kind of stopped and was about to celebrate — and then realized that he wasn’t down. [It’s] a teaching lesson for me: don’t stop.”
Afterward, Jones said he didn’t feel the need to address the incident with his teammates.
“I think they understand that I thought the play was over,” he said. “I didn’t quit, you know what I mean? It was just one of those instances where I thought he was down — and [then] I thought we were about to get him down again, and then [it was like,] ‘Oh my God! He’s not down.’ So they understand that it won’t happen again.”
Still, Jones admitted that watching the film of the play was difficult — because he holds himself to a higher standard.
“I kind of rate myself differently than everybody else,” he said. “So for me,. it was tough because it’s like, ‘I had the opportunity.’ And I just thought he was down.
“It’s my job not to think. It’s my job to finish. I’ll be better at it.”
As criticism of the play spread online, some noticed that the All-Pro defensive lineman seemed to have deleted his social media accounts. Many assumed he did it in response to the backlash.
But Jones denies that.
“Two days before the game,” he revealed, “I posted a Drake quote — ‘I’ll see you in the summary of 2026’ — and then I deleted my social media — before the game. I never run from constructive criticism. I’ve never been that guy.”
Jones prefers to use criticism as motivation.
“I always address it head-on; it’s like fuel,” he noted. “It’s like gas, for me personally.”
Still, he sometimes likes to take break from it all.
“I take social media breaks,” he explained. “I go through periods where I don’t need any social media.”
As far as he is concerned, the only reason to remain involved in it is to honor his brand commitments.
“Sometimes it’s not beneficial for me if there aren’t any brand deals I have contracts with,” he said. “A couple of days before the game, I called my agent and asked if I had any pending contracts with any brand deals before I deactivated my social media — and he was like, ‘Well, we’re working on it, but you can deactivate it.’”
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