On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning streak ended at three games with a 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. After the final whistle, defensive tackle Chris Jones was upfront about the defense’s role in the disappointing defeat — and what work may be in store for him and his teammates during the team’s Week 10 bye.
“There were a lot of missed tackles,” he acknowledged. “Usually, we’ve been doing a really, really good job of getting the tackle, wrapping them up, and solidifying the play. Today, we had a couple of broken tackles, which led to bigger runs… We gave up a few open throws, whether it was miscommunication or just being out of plays. There’s a lot of errors and key components that we can fix on our end. We’ve got a week off to get some guys healthy, look over this game, correct some errors and get back to it.”
With Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching, there has been speculation that the defensive line might look a bit different after the week off. But Jones believes the talent it needs is already on the roster.
“I don’t think we need to make any drastic changes,” he remarked. “I feel like we have the guys to do it. I think it’s more about being detailed in our work, looking at ourselves in the mirror and holding each other accountable. We’ve got a lot of great guys in this room who take a lot of accountability for their play and their responsibility. So I’m quite sure this week they’re going to get their bodies healthy, focus on their detail work, and come back ready to play better.”
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Still, Jones knows that the team’s current pass rush production is not sufficient — even though the defense recorded three sacks of Bills quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday. He wants to see the defensive line take better advantage of favorable blocking matchups when they happen.
“There’s still room for improvement,” he declared. “I think we had two sacks today. If we plan on winning — especially with the front four on the line — we’ve got to affect the quarterback. We’ve got to. It makes it easier for the defense and it makes it easier for the back end.
“We’ve got to take advantage of one-on-ones. When [you] get a single block, you’ve got to win. You’ve got to win. I think that’s huge going forward. We’ve got to emphasize winning our one-on-ones.”
The Chiefs have now lost their regular-season matchup against the Bills in five consecutive years. In four of those seasons, Kansas City got the last laugh by defeating Buffalo in the postseason. Jones suspects that Sunday’s matchup will once again Round 1 for this season.
“I’m quite sure we’re going to see them again,” he predicted. “This is a very, very good team. They have an MVP-caliber quarterback. They have a great offensive [scheme] — and they’re a well-rounded team.”
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