Silver And Black Pride
Going from having to deter Jeffrey Simmons to Chris Jones in back-to-back weeks, there’s no rest for the weary when it comes to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Just like the Tennessee Titans defensive tackle before him, the Kansas City Chiefs big man in the middle present a big problem for the Silver & Black in this Sunday’s AFC West clash. And to a man, the Raiders not only hold Jones in high regard, but know if the offensive line isn’t up to snuff, it’ll be a long hard day in Arrowhead.
“I mean, we got a good test of it this past week with Jeffrey Simmons. I’ve been playing in this league long enough to know there’s great players everywhere. There’s Hall of Fame players on every team, and Chris Jones is one of them,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “He’s a great competitor. He’s a tough guy in the interior. We know we’re up against, so it’s our job to go out there and make it happen.”
Ditto for Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
“I think sometimes when you have a defensive end, you can slide protection to him or run away from him. But when the guy’s smack-dab in the middle, that makes it really difficult. And Simmons is as good as I saw, and I said that last week. And then not looking forward, and then everybody knows of Chris (Jones) and then the second week to go against one of the top interior defensive lineman league it’s a challenge for all those guys. It’s a challenge for Jordan (Meredith) and JPJ (Jackson Powers-Johnson) and for Dylan (Parham) on the inside there. And it’s really similar to playing Simmons from one week to the next week. You don’t get a little reprieve, so that’s just part of the deal. I mean, he’s a talented football player.”
While Kelly and Smith have their part in trying to mitigate Jones — by play calling, scheme, and adjustments at the line of scrimmage — the trio of Raiders interior lineman that Kelly mentioned above: Meredith (center), Powers-Johnson (right guard), and Parham (left guard) are at the forefront of mitigating the Chiefs disruptive defensive tackle.
While some may scoff at Jones’ statistics through six games of the 2025 season (eight total tackles, four stops for loss, one sack, and seven quarterback hits), the 6-foot-6 and 310-pound 31-year-old is still a must-account-for defender. While the 6-foot-4 and 305-pound Simmons has better stats so far (28 total tackles, eight stops for loss, 4.5 sacks, and 11 quarterback hits), Jones commands just as much attention and has a penchant for disruption, other defenders in Steve Spagnu0lo’s Chiefs defense can make plays. Hence Kansas City’s 11th and 12th rankings in points allowed (124) and yards given up (1,867), respectively.
Like Kelly, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll referenced matching up with Simmons as a good segue for the task of blocking Jones. Simmons did have a solid game against Las Vegas in Week 6 tallying...
