Getty Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs (on knees) threw a pick-six to Raiders DB Jack Jones.
Since arriving in Las Vegas, Raiders cornerback Jack Jones has put his stamp on the team in more ways than one. Not only has he filled the gap left by the waiving of struggling veteran Marcus Peters, but he has brought a certain level of confidence and swagger to a Raiders defense that was already pretty sure of itself. In the last two weeks, though, Jones has broken out to Raiders stardom with two pick-six interceptions—and some well-placed trash-talking of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Jones gained some notoriety this week ahead of the Raiders’ Christmas Day game in Kansas City when he was asked what he thought about the Chiefs receivers.
“We’re not worried about them. It’s Patrick Mahomes we gotta stop. The magician. You stop the magician, then the act is over,” Jones said.
YOU STOP THE MAGICIAN THE ACT IS OVER
JACK JONES IS A DAWG
That banter seemed a bit over-the-top for a player who had been released last month by the lowly Patriots, playing for a team that was only 6-8 at the time. But Jones followed through with a big interception he returned for a touchdown, the second touchdown by the Raiders’ defense in the span of seven seconds. Those plays were critical in the Raiders’ 20-14 win over Kansas City.
And after the game, Jones was still swaggering. At his locker, he channeled Colorado coach Deion Sanders, saying, “What Deion say? We coming! We coming!”
Jack Jones Gave Patrick Mahomes an Earful
On the play, Jack Jones showed some of that newfound Raiders attitude in two ways. First, after making the interception, as Patrick Mahomes made a half-hearted effort to tackle him, Jones looked directly at Mahomes and delivered some man-to-man trash talk.
Then, once in the end zone, Jones circled a bit and approached a young fan sitting in the front row, wearing a Chiefs hat. Jones approached the fan, extended the touchdown ball to him but, as the boy reached for it, Jones pulled it back.
Jack Jones really faked giving the football to a kid and then took it back on Christmas 💀
The move had fans comparing Jones to the Grinch, and Jones willingly leaned into the match, posting a picture of himself with the head of the Grinch on his Instagram account after the game.
Head coach Antonio Pierce, who coached Jones in high school and college, said he was not surprised by how Jones has played. He has pushed him to be aggressive in recent weeks.
“That group, that secondary, the way they’re playing. Very confident. Again, goes back to film study. Watching film,” Pierce said in his postgame press conference. “And then (with Jones), we talked about this back in Vegas. See it, believe it, go get it. And he did just that.”
Raiders Defense Garners Credit
The win pulls the Raiders to 7-8 with two to play. Their playoff chances were on life support two weeks ago after the distressing 3-0 loss to Minnesota, but they’re now sitting at 14%, per the New York Times playoff odds tracker. The Raiders need help, but wins against the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 17 and against the Broncos in Week 18 would put their chances at 64%.
Much credit for keeping this group alive belongs to the Raiders defense. Pierce was quick to point that out.
“We knew it was gonna be a gritty game, it wasn’t gonna be high scoring,” Pierce said. “We didn’t want it to be a high scoring game. Hats off to our defense, Patrick Graham, our defensive staff. Hats off to our players, that executed, stayed with it, being relentless, we talked about squeezing, finishing. Finishing the second quarter, finishing the fourth quarter, and they did that.”