Chris Jones expected his Chiefs to stop Colts’ Jonathan Taylor — and he was right
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs defensive front and linebackers executed Spagnuolo's run-stopping plan.
- Chiefs contained Jonathan Taylor to 58 yards, limited long runs and scores.
- Run defense success fueled comeback and set tone for upcoming opponents.
Well knowing their season was on the line Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs willed their way to overtime by scoring 11 unanswered points.
After winning the OT coin-toss, Indianapolis chose to take the ball first.
From Indy’s 42, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones took the shotgun snap and handed off to Jonathan Taylor — but Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill recognized it instantly, knifed through the line and wrapped Taylor for a three-yard loss.
After their fourth straight three-and-out, the Colts sent out their punt team. From there, you know the rest. The Chiefs (6-5) beat the Colts 23-20 in a had-to-have-it Week 12 NFL game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“We just knew we had to take some shots,” Tranquil said when asked about the play after the game. “Chris (Jones)had incredible movement on that third-and-1, and we were able to get a negative play and get off the field. We knew we had to be downhill against a great runner and give our offense a chance.”
At the snap, Jones crashed to his left, opening the lane for Tranquill to shoot through nearly untouched — just as KC defensive coordinator Steve Spanguolo drew it up.
“I can’t really spill too much on our defense,” Jones said. “But Spags did a great job moving us around and getting me in spaces to make plays. For us (Sunday), we executed at a high level. Gave up a few big runs, but it’s OK.”
It absolutely was.
A game after Taylor racked up 244 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Atlanta, he posted his second-lowest output of the season — 58 rush yards on 16 carries (3.6 yards per attempt). Remove his longest rush of the day for 27 yards, when the Chiefs expected Daniel Jones to sneak, and his numbers look even worse.
“Our guys did a nice job wrapping him up,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “You saw a couple plays where he bounced off — he’s had a lot of those yards-after-contact plays this season — so you’ve got to focus on wrapping up and getting him down. Our guys did that and did it well.”
Taylor also entered Arrowhead with 15 touchdowns, including five games with three scores. On Sunday, he didn’t reach the end zone. “I thought our D-line played great — especially the big fella, 95,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “(Jones) was able to get back there a couple times, never really let him get going. And we used our speed in the back end to get four or five guys to the ball. I just think we played great up front. We set the line of scrimmage, the second-level guys flew around, and we put a lot of hats on the ball today.”
Jones, whom Bolton specifically credited, expected that Taylor would struggle.
“I kind of knew it was going to happen,” he said. “If you look at the track record throughout the year — the running backs we played, nobody really busted 100 yards on us. I think maybe one runner who had 100 yards over us (Detroit’s Jahmir Gibbs). But we were committed to stopping the run, and then we were able to get after the quarterback.”
Stopping Taylor may be the toughest assignment a defense can face in the NFL this season — and the Chiefs have to feel good knowing they did it.
Now they look ahead with confidence at what remains: Dallas’ Javonte Williams, Houston’s Woody Marks, Los Angeles’ Omarion Hampton and even a repeat date with Taylor, should they continue their push to the postseason.
This story was originally published November 23, 2025 at 5:56 PM.
