Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones spoke to the media prior to Thursday’s practice, addressing the team’s 0-2 start and their upcoming game against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football.
When asked about the sense of urgency with the team’s current record, Jones emphasized the importance of maintaining high energy and focus. “I think it’s always a sense of urgency in this building,” he said. “Urgency kind of picks up when you’re not winning. The energy is good. I think you gotta keep the energy high. Still first quarter of the season; can’t get down on ourselves. We gotta continue to push each other and get the best out of each other, tighten up on the details.”
Jones also discussed the team’s progress, highlighting the incremental steps they’re taking to improve. “Of course, I think it was a step toward progression,” he said. “And one step a day, that’s what I tell the guys: ‘One step a day.’ We don’t have to take huge strides. If we continue to take one step a day, and by the time we get to December, we can look back at this moment of adversity and we can learn a lot from it and we can continue to build from it.”
Regarding the performance of the defensive secondary against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones acknowledged areas for improvement but also expressed respect for the Eagles’ receivers. “Listen, there are areas of improvement,” he said. “Front end, back end, all-around defense. How many passing yards did we give up? We gave up, what, 101 passing yards? I have so much respect for those receivers on the Philadelphia Eagles. You got DeVonta Smith, who was a Heisman winner, and you got A.J. Brown, who is a 1,000-yard receiver just walking out there.”
Jones praised the defensive secondary’s performance, noting that they held the Eagles’ top receivers to just 100 yards. “And we gave up 100, so there’s no complaining there,” he said. “Those back-end guys, how much better do we want them to be? These are two No. 1 receivers in this league. Two top-10 receivers in this league. We gave up 100 yards. Y’all have a beautiful day.”
The Chiefs will look to bounce back from their 0-2 start when they face the Giants on Sunday Night Football. With Jones and the rest of the team focused on taking it one step at a time, they’re confident they can turn their season around. As Jones said, “We’re all in this together, we’re all leaning on each other, pushing the best out of each other and we’re taking one step a day. Progress compounds and we continue to take a step a day. We’ll still get better, and we’ll get this thing turned around soon, very soon.”
