Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones didn’t make excuses for himself after he faced criticism for not hustling on his team’s final defensive play in Monday’s 31-28 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Replays showed Jones, a six-time Pro Bowl player, standing straight up for most of the play as Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence fell twice before regaining his balance to dive into the end zone for a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown.
“It’s a teaching point for me, a little adversity,” Jones said Thursday during his regularly scheduled media appearance. “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 that he wasn’t down. A teaching lesson for me is, ‘Don’t stop.’ ”
Just like we drew it up! 🤌@trevorlawrence | #KCvsJAX on ESPNpic.twitter.com/qwhgOasi8S
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 7, 2025
When asked if he felt like he needed to talk to his teammates about the incident, Jones said no.
“I think they understand that I thought the play was over with, and they understand I don’t quit,” Jones said. “It was just one of those instances where I thought he was down, and I thought we were about to get him down again. And, ‘Oh my God, he is not down.’ So they understand — they understand that. It won’t happen again.”
Jones also noted that his X and Instagram accounts were deactivated last week. The 10th-year pro said he deleted both of those two days before the game to reduce distractions after consulting with his agents about whether he had any brand sponsorships coming up.
“I never run from constructive criticism. I’ve never been that guy. Always addressed it head-on, actually,” Jones said. “There’s a lot you can take from criticism. It’s like fuel, for me, personally.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that the teaching point for Jones from the viral clip was to keep playing no matter what.
“You can’t think that the guy’s down. You can’t think that,” Reid said. “You’ve got to just play the play. He knows. He’s been around this thing a long time. So that’s really what it came down to.”
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo shared a similar message Thursday, saying it’s a coaching point to tell players, “Never assume.”
“I think guys just got caught up in the moment, thought he was down. It didn’t work out that way. I think we’ll all learn from it,” Spagnuolo said. “But we’ve moved on, and hopefully, that doesn’t happen again.”
Jones, 31, has long been a leader of the defense. He said his assignment on that play was to be in the B gap to his side, meaning Lawrence’s run went around the edge in the other direction.
He acknowledged it was difficult to watch himself on video again.
“Me personally, I grade myself different than how everybody else grades me. So for me, it was tough,” Jones said. “It was like, ‘I had the opportunity,’ you know what I mean? I just thought he was down. And it’s my job not to think. It’s my job to finish. I’ll be better at it.”
The Chiefs find themselves in an unfamiliar spot at 2-3 with the Detroit Lions coming in this weekend for a “Sunday Night Football” matchup.
Jones said he would use Monday night’s situation as a life lesson.
“What I just took from it: You’ve just got to finish. It’s not like I quit on anything. I thought he was down,” Jones said. “So from now on, I’ll make sure I finish.”
