Chiefs’ Chris Jones kept his historic sack streak alive in a loss to Chargers
Nobody has blocked Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones for four full quarters, at least not for the last 10 weeks, and on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Chargers were as ill-equipped as everyone else this season.
Jones, a third-year defensive lineman, collected 2 1/2 sacks and tied an NFL record by notching at least one sack in 10 consecutive games. He tied former Denver Broncos edge rusher Simon Fletcher (Nov. 15, 1992-Sept. 20, 1993) and former Dallas Cowboys and Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware (Dec. 16, 2007-Oct. 19, 2008) as the only players to put together such a streak.
Even among that exclusive group, Jones stands alone in that he’s the lone member whose streak hasn’t stretched across two seasons — at least not yet. Jones has downplayed the streak, saying flatly after setting the franchise record against Baltimore that it meant “nothing” if the Chiefs (11-3) didn’t clinch home field advantage in the playoffs.
“During this roll of games, I expect him to get at least one sack every game, knowing Chris,” rookie defensive tackled Derrick Nnadi said of teammate Jones. “He works very hard at his pass rush, and with him it’s bound to happen every week.”
Describing Jones getting a sack every game as “bound to happen” is a fairly remarkable statement, considering it’s never happened before. Nnadi explained that the reason he’s felt that way is Jones’ positive “energy” and ability to speak things into existence.
“He always puts a lot of positive mindset into it,” Nnadi said. “Him saying he’s going to get one, it’s bound to happen. Just like with anything. You put your mind to it, it’s bound to happen.”
Thursday night, in a 29-28 loss in the final seconds to the AFC West rival Chargers (11-3), the Chiefs gave up 22 second-half points and possibly their chance at home field advantage in the playoffs. So it’s no surprise Jones’ focus after the loss remained on the defense’s second-half woes.
“We have to do better,” Jones said of the defense. “Especially at the end of the game. We have to step up and make the plays and get off the field.”
Jones, who had 8 of the team’s 12 quarterbacks hits on Thursday, registered all of his sacks in the first half. The Chiefs came into the night with the second-most sacks in the NFL, but they got to Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers only once after halftime.
“It’s tough, mentally,” Jones said of failing to clinch the division and a playoff bye. “It’s very tough. We have to come back and bounce back.
“We have a couple days off. We have to prepare for the Seattle Seahawks at their place. Understand what you did wrong and watch film, and let’s make some corrections and bring it at Seattle.”
