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If you were looking for anger and blame after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 11 collapse against the Philadelphia Eagles, offensive team leaders Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes II did not provide it during their postgame press conferences.
The Chiefs typically do a great job of keeping drama in-house, although defensive team leader Chris Jones did keep it real with media and fans after the loss.
“Improvement, accountability, you can’t drag it on,” Jones said when asked about Reid’s postgame message to the locker room. “We’ve got a big division game coming up. [Las Vegas] Raiders are a team that’s been on a roll since they got the new coach. So, can’t hang our head on this, but we definitely can improve.”
Jones and Reid are right in that there’s no time to dwell on a loss in the National Football League. After falling to 7-3 in Week 11, Kansas City will get right back on the horse and prepare for the division rival Raiders (5-6) in Week 12.
Chris Jones’ Points of Emphasis in Week 12: Self-Reflection, Improvement, Run Defense & Accountability
After at his press conference about whether the the locker room was frustrated, Jones said: “I think it’s more so self-reflecting. We can improve in a lot of areas.”
“This is a growing moment for us as a team overall,” the calm and collected big man went on. “[It will] give us a lot to look at. Give us a lot to look at to improve and get better on.”
Jones also went through a few more “points of emphasis” for Week 12.
“I think we’ll continue to improve throughout the year, improve this week [with] mental errors, whatever it may be. I think that will be the point of emphasis this week, and then we’ll try to get it going next week,” Jones told reporters.
He also said the defense will focus on shoring up the run game and that overall accountability would be stressed.
“I think it will be voiced [by team leaders],” Jones explained after a question on how KC can make sure these lessons are comprehended. “During the team meeting, you kind of want to establish that [stuff]. What’s the point of emphasis of this week? I think accountability would be one of them.”
Chris Jones Says Chiefs Defense Has ‘Trust’ & ‘Hope’ in Patrick Mahomes & Offense
As for any resentment from a defensive perspective, there is none, according to Jones.
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to pick it up,” he replied when asked about the offensive struggles during the second half of games. “We got a lot of young guys, and like I said, it’s a lot of self-reflecting right now, man, being accountable. That goes around.”
Jones added that the defense has a lot of “trust” and “hope” in Mahomes, Reid and the offense as a whole.
“They’ve scored a lot of points [over the years],” he said with a smile, “and we never once doubt them. We always have their back. We always trust [that if] we get them the ball back, they have an opportunity to score and I don’t think that’s going to change after one game.”
Jones was a force against the Eagles, with 2 sacks, 4 quarterback pressures and three key defensive stops, according to Pro Football Focus. His worst graded area was run defense, although the veteran appeared well-aware, citing “over 120” rushing yards allowed versus Philadelphia.
The Chiefs defense actually gave up 114 yards on the ground in the loss, but Jones was close enough. They’ll face another tough runner in Raiders star Josh Jacobs in Week 12.
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Chris Jones Reveals Andy Reid’s Message to Locker Room After Eagles Loss