Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs made a plethora of errors in Week 5’s 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. One particular example looms large as eyes turn to the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Detroit Lions.
In the game’s final minute, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence fell down while taking the snap at the Chiefs’ 1-yard line. He then got up and ran outside to the left, punching in the game-winning score. Only thirty seconds remained on the clock at the snap. Had the Chiefs simply touched Lawrence down, Jacksonville — with no timeouts remaining — might not have been able to beat the running clock to get another play off.
During the play, defensive tackle Chris Jones appeared to be hedging for a run across the middle. He apparently didn’t realize the opportunity to bring down Lawrence until it was far too late.
Speaking before Wednesday’s practice, head coach Andy Reid addressed Jones not rallying to the play.
“You can’t think that the guy’s down,” Reid said. “You can’t think that. You’ve got to just play the play. He knows. He’s been around this thing a long time. That’s really what it came down to.”
Linebacker Nick Bolton has heard the criticism about Jones’ actions during the play. But speaking from the podium on Wednesday, he reminded reporters it wouldn’t be out of the question for a quarterback to fall down deliberately.
“A lot of guys are harping on the play,” Bolton said, “but you’ve seen guys trip and fall and it be a trick play. You have to keep your eyes where [they’re] supposed to be. So, it’s a little bit of that going on as well: guys just trying to play fast and make a play.
“I’m not really too focused on the outside things. Everybody’s trying to do their job to the best of their ability. It just happened that they were able to get outside and score a touchdown. We’ve just got to find a way to get him on the ground.”
In the aftermath of Monday’s loss, Jones appears to have removed himself from social media. Recently, his teammate Tyquan Thornton revealed how detrimental social media had been to his mental well-being during his two years with the New England Patriots, when he failed to meet the lofty expectations of being a high second-round pick.
Reid declined to share any specific advice he would give players about handling social media during difficult stretches, but the team’s most prominent voice is well-versed in dealing with public criticism.
“It can be toxic, for sure, being on social media and seeing stuff,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on Wednesday. “To me, at the end of the day, I know who I am — and I know the amount of work that I put in. I can live with myself and live with the results. So, I feel like if you’re putting in the work and you’re doing whatever you can to leave everything on the football field, you can...
