Chris Jones says his effort on the deciding play of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday wasn’t what it appeared.
With the Jaguars facing a first-and-goal from the Chiefs’ 1-yard line with less than a minute, quarterback Trevor Lawrence stumbled to the ground after right guard Patrick Mekari stepped on his foot. Before being touched, however, Lawrence got back on his feet and then took off to his left, breaking a tackle and then diving into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Jones was sharply criticized after the game for not pursuing Lawrence, with the star defensive tackle merely drifting toward the action as it unfolded.
Speaking for the first time since the play, Jones said in a news conference Thursday that he assumed Lawrence hitting the ground would result in the play being ruled over shortly after.
‘It’s a teaching point for me, a little adversity,’ Jones said. ‘I can’t think the play is over, you know what I mean? It’s a learning lesson. I thought it was over – I thought we had him down, so I kind of stopped and was about to celebrate and then realized he wasn’t down. The teaching lesson for me is don’t stop.’
Jones added he didn’t feel compelled to address the matter with teammates.
‘They understand I didn’t quit,’ Jones said. ‘It was just one of those instances where I thought he was down, and I thought we was about to get him down again. … They understand it won’t happen again.’
Patrick Mahomes gave Jones his full support when asked Wednesday about the play.
‘I believe in Chris Jones no matter what, man,’ Mahomes said in his weekly interview with on 96.5 The Fan. ‘He’s done so much for this team and for this organization, being a leader. And I think people don’t even understand how much of a leader he is on this team.
‘But he’s a guy that’s kind of made us go throughout my career, and I know in big moments he’s gonna make big plays. And so people always look back and see stuff after losses and stuff like that, and they judge that stuff. But I judge the guy, the character he brings into the building every single day.’
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