Three franchise greats carry KC Chiefs forward vs. Chargers

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 11: Tight end Travis Kelce #87 looks over at quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 11: Tight end Travis Kelce #87 looks over at quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Chris Jones #95 of the Kansas City Chiefs  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Chris Jones

While it’s easy to get caught up in the Mahomes and Kelce hype because of all the huge numbers they put up, Chris Jones deserves his due as well for his dominance, both on Sunday against the Chargers and throughout his Chiefs career. If you kept your eyes on Chris Jones for only just a handful of plays on Sunday it was easy to see that the Chargers were doing everything they could to make someone else beat them as they consistently double teamed Jones and tried to shield him away from the action.

It didn’t work.

Jones finished the game with five solo tackles, three of which were for a loss, including two sacks. People throw around the word “unblockable” a lot in NFL circles, but Chris Jones really has been just that this season. Jones is now up to 9 sacks on the season and is on pace for 15 for this season. That’s a fantastic number for an outside edge rusher, it’s off the charts good for an interior player like Jones.

Jones may still be four sacks off the NFL leader, Matthew Judon, but he does lead the NFL in sacks for an interior player. For years, Jones has played second fiddle to Aaron Donald on the interior, but Donald having a bit of a down year and Jones playing out of his mind has flipped that this season. At this point I don’t think it’s even controversial to call Jones the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL this season.

Jones is definitely one of the greatest defensive linemen in Chiefs history at this point. He already ranks fifth in team history in sacks and depending on how you classify Neil Smith who played a lot of 3-4 defensive end, you could call Jones the best interior pass rusher in team history. He’s been an absolute wrecking ball on defense for the Chiefs most of his career, but he’s playing his best football this season and the Chargers definitely saw that Sunday night.

We are in a golden age of Kansas City Chiefs football and I truly hope that fans not only are soaking in the team success, but appreciate the absolute brilliant play by three of the greatest Kansas City Chiefs of all time. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones are simply amazing to watch. They are all three having record breaking type dominant seasons and they are the heart and soul of the team that beat the Los Angeles Chargers and all but locked up the AFC West for the Chiefs on Sunday night. It may not be “breaking news” to say that about these three Chiefs, but sometimes you simply have to stop and soak in the greatness that we get the privilege to watch.

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