The Kansas City Chiefs lost a game they should've won in Week 5. Trevor Lawrence scored one of the most bizarre touchdowns we've seen in recent years, getting back up after stumbling to scramble his way to the endzone to put the Jacksonville Jaguars up for good with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Chiefs' pass-rush failed to contain him, and it seemed like star DT Chris Jones had given up on the play. He didn't even try to tackle him, and Lawrence entered the endzone untouched. Of course, that fueled plenty of criticism online. That's why, now that Jones went back to his usual dominant self and played a big role in the 30-17 win over the Detroit Lions, fellow defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott made sure to give him his flowers.
Chris Jones Redeemed Himself on SNF
"Just playing hard," Norman-Lott said of Jones following the win, per KC Sports Network. "You got the big man right here, Chris Jones, he's leading the front; we call him the piston. Without him, without him leading us, I don’t know if we could’ve got it. Shoutout to Chris Jones.”
The Chiefs' veteran had already addressed the issue. He admitted that he thought the play was over, and while he took it as a learning experience, he didn't apologize to his teammates because they all know what type of player he is and the effort he puts every single week:
“I think they understand that I thought the play was over,” Jones said in the week, per NFL.com. “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.”
The superstar defensive tackle played a big part in the win, and while he only logged one tackle and one QB hit, he was tasked with containing Penei Sewell, the undisputed best right tackle in all of football right now. The Chiefs held the Lions' explosive offense to 17 points and just 297 total yards, including 199 passing yards. That's not something you see every day.
To be fair, Jones may not have had the strong start to the season some people hoped he'd have. But even at this age, he's still one of the prime head-hunting defensive tackles and interior defenders in all of football.