Chief Issue: Opponents Are Keeping Up With Jones

“I think we all need to do better,” Andy Reid said Monday afternoon, asked specifically about Jones’ production. “Chris is always striving to do better every day. I mean, that's what's made him such a good player.

“Again, he's the guy that they're going to focus on. And if you're getting a double team, that's who's getting doubled. And so that's he's just, he'll get his as we as we go forward. It's just important that he stays consistent and keeps working hard.”

Doubling up

No question, Jones is seeing much more double teams this year. He’s clearly the focus of pre-snap protections, even when Spagnuolo has him rush as a defensive end. But in theory, that should mean other Chiefs pass rushers should win more one-on-one matchups.

“Still room for improvement,” Jones said after the Chiefs’ 28-21 loss at Buffalo on Nov. 2. “If we plan on winning, especially the front four D-line, we got to affect the quarterback. We got to. It makes it easier for the defense, and it makes it easier for the back end.

“And we got to take advantage of one-on-ones. When we get a single block, you got to win. You got to win. I think that's huge going forward. We got to emphasize winning our one-on-one. So, if we get a one-on-one, we got to win it.”

Pressure rate is down

Winning – in the pass rush and in games -- hasn’t happened this year as much as the Chiefs expect. Jones enters the week ranked 51st among qualifying defensive linemen with an 8.1-percent pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats. He has just 20 pressures in 246 pass rushes.

And per Pro Football Focus, Jones has an 81.4 pass-rush grade this season, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2016. His 42.9 run-defense grade is by far the lowest mark of his career.

Things don’t get any easier for the Chiefs, either. Right off their bye at Denver (8-2) on Sunday (3:25 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan), they face a formidable Broncos line.

Quarterback Bo Nix and the Broncos are the best pass-blocking unit in the league, allowing sacks on just 3.14 percent of pass attempts. The next-closest team is Seattle at 4.31 percent.

But give Spagnuolo and Jones an extra week to prepare and they might erase some doubt. Last year, for example, George Karlaftis had a sack and critical hurry in the first game off the bye, a 28-18 win at San Francisco. In the Super Bowl rematch, Karlaftis hurried Brock Purdy on a fourth-quarter interception by Jaden Hicks.

“It's never really as bad as you think, never really as good as you think,” Jones said after the Buffalo loss. “So, watch film. I’m quite sure there's a lot of positive you can take out of it. It's just that the only thing, when you lose, your errors are maximized. You know what I mean?

“It's like you pay attention more to your errors than you pay attention to the positive, when you take the L. So, you know, right now we're kind of focused on fixing our details and what we can do or what we could have done better.”

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