TheĀ Kansas City Chiefsā 31ā28 loss to theĀ Jacksonville JaguarsĀ on āMonday Night Footballā left the Chiefs searching for answers as they dropped down to 2-3 on theĀ NFLĀ season.
Trevor Lawrenceās improbable 1āyard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining, a scramble that saw him trip and fall, rise and run untouched into the end zone while AllāPro defensive tackle Chris Jones appeared nearby but not engaged, became the defining image of the defeat and the spark for a firestorm online.
Within hours, multiple outlets,Ā including The Associated Press, noted Jones had deactivated his social accounts and social feeds filled with criticism aimed directly at the veteran interior force.
The six-time Pro Bowler answered some of those criticisms on Thursday, telling Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports that he periodically goes through āsocial media breaksā and actually deleted them a couple of days before the game.
āThey figured that I deleted it for that, but it was deleted a couple of days before,āĀ Jones said. āI take social media breaks⦠I go through periods where I donāt need any social media. Itās not beneficial for me when I donāt have any brand dealsā¦ā
Coach Andy Reidās message after the game was blunt,Ā telling reporters, āYou canāt think that the guy is down. You canāt think that. You have to play the play. He (Jones) knows. Heās been around this a long time. Thatās really what it came down to.ā
Jones alsoĀ acknowledged postgameĀ that the defense didnāt complete its job. āI thought multiple times we had him,ā Jones said. āWeāve just got to finish. Weāve got to finish. We had multiple guys there that weāve just got to finish that play. It was a fluke play for him to be able to break that many tackles. Yeah, I put it on us as a defense. Weāve got to finish.ā

The optics were damaging because Jones is one of the gameās premier interior pass rushers, yet his reduced impact this season has been visible in the numbers.
Through five games, he has tallied just seven tackles and one sack, meaning he is on pace for roughly 24 tackles and three to four sacks on the year, both of which would be career lows.
The Chiefs now head into Week 6 hosting theĀ Detroit LionsĀ on āSunday Night Football,ā a primetime test with the teamās standing and public patience already strained.
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