There was no shortage of embarrassing moments for the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense in Week 5’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately for the reigning AFC champions, one of their best players was under fire for his performance late in the contest.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones, now infamously, was stuck observing Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence‘s game-winning run to the end zone. Fans made him know about it in the aftermath, and a former NFL player is doing the same.
In a clip posted to his X account, analyst Emmanuel Acho broke down the sequence.
Former NFL Player Emmanuel Acho Calls Out Chiefs & Chris Jones After Week 5 Gaffe
Acho didn’t hold back, citing Jones as “too good” for such a lackluster example of film to be put out.
“The Chiefs are 2-3 because of stuff like this,” Acho began. “Chris Jones, you’re a six-time All-Pro, walking into the Hall of Fame, but that’s not the only time you’re walking. How does this happen? Everybody and their mom is sprinting — how does this happen? One of the best defensive tackles the game has seen, so don’t take it as disrespect. Instead, take it as a challenge. Chris Jones is too good for this! We’re walking. The game is on the line — how are we walking right now? Trevor Lawrence is busting his butt. He’s diving, he’s leaping, he’s hurdling, he’s busting his butt. We’re too good for this.”
He didn’t stop there. Although Acho did provide some context for Jones’ fourth-quarter shortcoming — he recently lost a family member and is playing a ton of snaps on defense — he used two words to sum up the Monday night development.
Completely unacceptable.
“You can not put that on camera, under any circumstance,” Acho said. “Six-time All-Pro, three-time first-team consecutively. Not that. Now are the Chiefs playing Chris Jones too many snaps? Yes. Has Chris Jones obviously been dealing with a lot off the field? Absolutely, give grace for that. But that’s completely unacceptable, bro. Completely unacceptable. That, by no means, is Chiefs football. Hell, that’s not Chris Jones football. Come on, man.”
Following the conclusion of Week 5’s game, Jones deactivated his X account. The star lineman spoke to the media on Monday night and described Lawrence’s touchdown as a “fluke” play, but this is the second time this year either Jones’ discipline or effort have been under question.
Is Kansas City Actually Playing Jones Too Many Snaps?
Did Acho make a valid point about Jones being on the field too much? That’s up for debate.
Entering Week 6, Jones is tied with safety Bryan Cook for having logged the seventh-most snaps on the Chiefs’ defense with 250. His 82% availability mark is right in line with 2024’s 83% figure, although he sat out two games that year. Jones will surpass his total of 771 snaps played from last year if he’s active for each of Kansas City’s regular-season contests.
Two factors must be taken into account here: age and mileage. Jones is no longer a young man on the field, as he turned 31 in July. He’s got plenty of snaps on his body now, in addition to some minor injuries over the years. He’s played in 143 regular-season outings in his 10-year career, with 22 playoff games being tacked onto that total. His 1,042 defensive snaps in the postseason are over a year’s worth; Jones’ career high for the regular season was 916 in 2022.
With that said, this isn’t anything too crazy. Jones knew what he was signing up for when he inked a pact to be the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. Snap data from Pro Football Focus also sheds light on Jones’ workload. Among interior defensive linemen, he ranks fifth in snaps.
Fourth place, Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks, is a couple of weeks older than him. Of the 28 interior players with 200-plus snaps this year, Jones is ninth in PFF pass rush grade but 24th in tackling and dead last in run defense grade.
It’s this writer’s take that right now, Jones’ snap counts shouldn’t be viewed as an issue. If they continue to be this high into December, though, then it’s perhaps time to dial back one of football’s premier pass rushers.
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