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The wins haven’t been coming as easily for the Kansas City Chiefs this season. The team is 9-5 and the offense hasn’t been playing up to the level that it has in years past. That’s largely due to lackluster wide receiver play.
The Las Vegas Raiders are headed to Kansas City to face off with the Chiefs on Christmas Day and cornerback Jack Jones believes he knows how to stop the offense.
“We’re not worried about them,” Jones said during his December 21 media availability. “It’s Patrick Mahomes we’ve got to stop. You stop the magician, then the act is over.”
The Chiefs are very reliant on Mahomes right now to make plays, which is something that Jones has noticed. Wide receivers like Kadarius Toney and Marquez Valdes-Scantling haven’t been playing well this season. Jones doesn’t appear too concerned about the wide receivers making big plays and the defense is focused on Mahomes.
The Raiders have a top-10 scoring defense for the first time in two decades and the group is starting to get some swagger. However, the Chiefs put 31 on this defense in Week 12 so the team will need Jones to back up his trash talk if Las Vegas hopes to pull off the upset.
Jack Jones Getting Comfortable With Las Vegas Raiders
Jack Jones started the season on the New England Patriots‘ roster. He looked like he’d be a key player for the team for a long time after a strong rookie season. However, he fell out of favor with the Patriots and was released.
The Raiders were able to claim him off of waivers and he’s not thinking too much about what happened in New England.
“Here today and gone tomorrow,” Jones said of getting cut by the Patriots. “That’s football. We just have to keep playing ball. Imagine I make that play and we lose. You just have to keep moving forward.”
Jones’ longstanding relationship with interim head coach Antonio Pierce has made the transition to Las Vegas a bit easier and now he’s starting to get more comfortable with the team.
“I know the playbook a lot better and I know a lot more people around the building,” Jones said. “I’m a little more comfortable in the system, a lot more comfortable actually. There’s still room for improvement, but I definitely feel better than when I got here.”
The Raiders have struggled to find long-term options at cornerback for years so Jones developing into a reliable option going forward would be big for the team.
Antonio Pierce Needs a Big Game From Jack Jones
Antonio Pierce certainly helped his chances of getting the full-time head coaching job with the 63-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15. However, a win over the defending Super Bowl champions on the road might be enough to seal the deal.
As noted earlier, Jack Jones has a longstanding relationship with Pierce as he was his head coach in high school. Despite the lackluster wide receiver corps, the Chiefs’ passing game is dangerous because of Patrick Mahomes. A big game from Jones would go a long way in helping the team win. The playoffs are essentially out of reach but the players still have a lot to play for if they want Pierce to be the head coach next season.
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