Chris Jones was obliterating offensive linemen on Sunday, and shouldn't go unnoticed
It was a rough loss, but let's take a moment to enjoy watching Jones be unblockable.
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We need to talk about Chris Jones. Trust me.
One of the problems with covering/analyzing losses in the NFL is that it’s tough to talk about anything positive when a game has a negative ending. It’s only natural that when a team loses, covering the why is important (similarly to how when a team wins, covering the why is going to take front and center).
That said, I think we’ve talked about about the Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals. We’ve covered how their stubbornness with personnel and strategy hurt them. We’ve also discussed in painful detail how execution issues and tactical mistakes late in the game hurt them.
I think we’ve had a sufficient amount of “why” here, and now I want to talk about something fun. Something the Bengals’ coach brought up after the game.
One may think that Taylor is exaggerating or perhaps just passing off praise after a tough win. But please allow me to be the first to tell you that Jones was obliterating the Bengals’ defensive line throughout the day, and it’s worth revisiting the chaos he was causing (with perhaps a brief note on how great individual performances don’t equal team defensive success).
It makes sense that Taylor would comment on Jones after the game, because they spent much of the day sending extra blockers his way. And it quite often didn’t matter.
We’ve spent enough time looking at the negative. Let’s look at all the different ways Jones destroyed people on Sunday and smile for a little bit. Because he’s playing at as high a level as he’s ever played, and that sort of thing is worth noticing even in a loss.