Arrowhead Pride
Few NFL games are as lopsided from start to finish as the Kansas City Chiefs’ 31-0 defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. While the Raiders did have significant injuries that stunted their starting lineup, that won’t be remembered for long. Even the nearly unstoppable Kansas City offense will probably be part of the lasting storyline.
The Chiefs’ defense was historically efficient during the team’s first regular-season shutout under head coach Andy Reid. (He also oversaw 2015’s 30-0 postseason victory over the Houston Texans that was much more significant in the team’s history — a defensive performance that featured four interceptions and a fumble recovery).
In this more nonchalant shutout, Kansas City finished with just one takeaway: a botched snap that was recovered in the fourth quarter — well after the game was in hand.
It was a straight-up domination by the Chiefs’ defense, which wasn’t on the field for more than five plays in any of the 10 Las Vegas possessions — and after consecutive weeks with at least 44 snaps, defensive tackle Chris Jones was basking in the minimal stress he put on his body.
“The energy is still high — but I feel really, really good,” Jones declared after the game. “We have a few guys that are battling injuries, we have to get them healthy… I personally feel really, really good; I played 23 plays.”
Jones actually played just 22 snaps — the fewest he’s recorded in a game since Week 3 of 2023. It was a similar situation: a 41-10 blowout of the Chicago Bears.
He earned the lighter workload when he earned the team’s only sack of the afternoon. With the Chiefs defending a 28-0 lead in the third quarter, Jones violently made his way past Raiders’ second-year guard Jackson Powers-Johnson to bring down quarterback Geno Smith. That same blocking matchup resulted in a holding call during the opening drive, negating a third-down conversion that led to a punt.
Jones recognizes that he and his defensive teammates got plenty of help from the Kansas City offense.
“The offense scoring a lot of points puts us in position to do what we do best: rush the passer,” he observed. “When we have success at rushing the passer, as a defense, it helps us out overall.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s game plan — stopping first-round running back Ashton Jeanty by formation, dissuading the Raiders’ offense from calling traditional handoffs — also helped.
“The looks we were giving were loading the box to force them to pass the ball,” Jones informed. “We were able to capitalize on that.”
Jeanty finished with just six carries. His longest carry was only eight yards.
The Chiefs registered just one other quarterback hit, but the pocket was constantly collapsing around Smith, who completed just 10 of 16 passes for 67 yards, never gathering a rhythm before Jones’ third-quarter sack basically ended any hope of a comeback.
For Jones — and fellow defensive linemen like Charles Omenihu and George Karlaftis...
