There’s no denying that Chris Jones is among the best players in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs' star defensive tackle is so good that he makes dominating opponents look effortless. However, fans in Week 5 saw him make things a little too easy in the closing stages of his team’s Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jones stood and watched as Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence tripped and fell on a botched first-and-goal snap with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The only problem is that the former was in the thick of the action along the trenches, or at least he was supposed to be.
LAWRENCE STUMBLES.
LAWRENCE SCORES.@JAGUARS LEAD!
KCvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
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— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2025
Chiefs fans are livid with Chris Jones' glaring lack of effort on wacky game-losing TD vs. Jags
Big No. 95 is impossible to miss in the center of the screen. You can easily notice Jones just giving up following his initial attempt to get past the heart of Jacksonville’s offensive line. The six-time All-Pro then froze in an upright position before briefly looking like he was going to try chasing down Lawrence but proceeded to walk. The response was exactly what you'd expect from Chiefs Kingdom.
Man, as a huge Chris Jones guy I am plunging into a deep existential crisis.
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) October 7, 2025
Watching Chris Jones stand around on this play is infuriating. https://t.co/vqS0eTMS8t
— Squabb Tonyan (@emceereach) October 7, 2025
Whatever happened to “low man wins”? Jones ostensibly forgot one of football’s fundamental principles at the most critical juncture of Kansas City’s 31-28 Monday Night Football defeat to the Jags. Instead, he did the opposite as Lawrence took it upon himself to overcome his mistake and propel Jacksonville to victory in relentless fashion.
Perhaps Jones and the Chiefs were instructed to let the Jags score to leave Kansas City’s offense time to try forcing overtime. Be that as it may, no one else stopped playing except for his teammate Nick Bolton. Nevertheless, that strategy effectively went out the window once Lawrence stumbled; it became a live scramble.
Talk about a blatantly poor display of effort for any professional athlete, let alone a three-time Super Bowl champion. Moreover, Jones is the highest-paid player at his position. This combination of pedigree and bloated salary makes it hard to fathom that he fell asleep at the wheel when the Chiefs needed him most.
For what it’s worth, Jones was visibly frustrated throughout the Chiefs’ disappointing result in Jacksonville. While that doesn’t excuse his actions, or lack thereof, it could help explain why he was so careless in a make-or-break moment.