Chris Jones Finally Breaks Through With a Pair Of Huge Sacks

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is one of the more entertaining players in the NFL when it comes to outrageous quotes, and Jones delivered again after he got a pair of sacks in the Chief' 35-12 win over the New York Jets at Arrowhead on Sunday. 

Jones has been taking plenty of heat for his lack of production, as he went into the Jets game with just 0.5 sacks, and he was shut out on the stat sheet in the Chiefs’ two losses before that. 

Coach Andy Reid has been an able enabler for Jones with his comments recently, but it wasn’t exactly surprising when Jones supplied an eye-catching quote after he put Jets quarterback Geno Smith on the ground a couple of times. 

“Listen, I know last week, I was like, ‘Sacks don’t matter,’” Jones said in a report from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “I lied. Sacks are everything.”

It’s an amusing quote, but the basics are right. The Chiefs were struggling a little in the first half against the Jets, and initially it looked like one of those games where they might let the Jets hang around. The Chiefs offense was getting touchdowns, but the Jets were moving the ball, then falling short as they got close to or into the red zone. 

The sacks stopped the nonsense. They put the Jets in long yardage situations, and that ended the threat. The New York offense isn’t awful, and they have enough talent at the skill positions to be dangerouss, but not enough to overcome long yardage. 

It wasn’t just Jones, either. Defensive end George Karlaftis was a terror initially, and he’s been making enoug plays that it wasn’t surprising to see him break through and get to Smith. for a pair of sacks. Fellow defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte got in on the fun as well, and by the time it was over the Chiefs had five sacks and the Jets were doing sideline rants when they couldn’t handle their frustration. 

The Chiefs need more of this from Jones, especially now. Kansas City is in the middle of a soft stretch in the schedule, with the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals up next, and two more wins would give the Chiefs a total of eight before they hit their brutal stretch run. 

They do finish with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, and Jones’ production or lack thereof will be a huge factor in ensuring a playoff berth and perhaps even getting a home game, especially if the Denver Broncos slip during their brutal stretch.