I haven’t seen a rewatch yet and it’s hard to focus only on defensive linemen during a live game but I’m confident saying Chris Jones had a very good game for the Chiefs against the Raiders on Thursday night.
On the Raiders first snap after the Chiefs first turnover, Jones easily beat his man and delivered a shot on Derek Carr. A nice little hello to one of the best offensive lines in football from one of the best rookies in football.
“To beat a good team like that that’s been on a roll and won every road game they’ve been in, to come in and stand them up like that, that’s a good feeling,” Chris Jones said at his locker after the game.
He was smiling because he’s always smiling. Someone said that Derek Carr was 17/41. He said just listen to the stat. 17/41! That’s not good.
“Those guys on the back end were doing their jobs and making it easier for us,” Jones said giving credit elsewhere as these Chiefs typically do.
Jones said that d-line coach Britt Reid rotated the defensive linemen last week against Atlanta so they could be fresh this week for Oakland, who has one of the best offensive lines in the league.
“They have been classified as that,” Jones said when asked about the Raiders offensive line being good. “Their quarterback has the fewest hurries, hits and sacks ... but it’s all about studying and finding out their tendencies and what they like to do and each offensive lineman sets on pass. I just try to study that and make the best of the situation.”
Studying? Who needs studying when you can throw linemen around like rag dolls even in freezing temperatures.
“It wasn’t bad as I thought,” Jones said about the temperatures in the teens. “You know what? Mississippi is actually worse than this. This is mild cold. It’s freezing but it’s not windy. Mississippi is windy, cold and sometimes even rain. It’s no big deal.”
17 degrees is a “mild cold”. I think this guy might fit in just fine around here.