{"id":248986,"date":"2025-09-30T16:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=248986"},"modified":"2025-09-30T16:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:48:07","slug":"chiefs-dt-chris-jones-football-is-my-escape-from-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/30\/chiefs-dt-chris-jones-football-is-my-escape-from-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs’ DT Chris Jones: Football is my Escape from Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0 <\/a>defensive\u00a0leader Chris Jones <\/a>\u00a0has emphasized the importance of playing football even as he copes with the loss of a family member<\/p>\n

Chris Jones plays through grief to deliver a big win<\/h2>\n

Hours after attending his aunt\u2019s funeral in Mississippi, the three-time All-Pro lineman suited up at Arrowhead Stadium and delivered a standout performance, helping the \u00a0Chiefs 37-20\u00a0 \u00a0W <\/a>over the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Jones finished with a tackle-for-loss, a pass deflection, and two quarterback hits, setting the tone for a defense that needed a spark against one of the AFC\u2019s toughest opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have opted to take some days off, deal with the grief and be with my family,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut we cope differently with grief, and mine is playing the game I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Jones wore a simple black suit to the funeral service. By evening, he was walking into Arrowhead in the same suit before changing into the trademark No. 95 jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat red-and-white uniform means the world to me,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Even without giving out many details about his aunt, the defender admitted the loss has weighed heavily on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough any time you lose someone you love and cherish. It\u2019s emotional. But being around good energy, good people \u2014 it makes you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the first four games of the season, Jones has recorded six tackles, two quarterback hits, and one sack. He is certain there is still more to come from him and the special team.<\/p>\n

“We are making many step forwards as a team. But we gave up a huge run at the end of the game. 71-yard rush was not good on us given that the Ravens were averaging 2.3 yards per carry. I think those are the areas we can polish,” he added.<\/p>\n

Since being drafted in the second round in 2016, Jones has earned six straight Pro Bowl selections and played an integral role in Kansas City\u2019s four Super Bowl runs.<\/p>\n

Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs’ togetherness<\/h3>\n

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a>\u00a0said Jones\u2019s presence meant everything to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we were praying for Chris, and we love him,\u201d Mahomes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just happy to have him here, so we can be his brothers and support him. I think it made guys step up and want to play even harder for him. It speaks to the brotherhood we have here in the locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy Reid Weighs in<\/h3>\n

Head coach Andy Reid<\/a><\/span> reminded everyone that situations like these put football in perspective. “I\u00a0mean, that\u2019s not something you\u2019re planning or anything else,\u201d Reid admitted. \u201cSo, you take care of that first, and then the game\u2019s game comes secondary when you start dealing with life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to Sunday’s match, Jones had been listed on the injury report as \u2018non-injury related \u2014 personal\u2019<\/em>, with the Chiefs arranging a flight plan to get him back in time. \u201cHe had to do what he had to do there,\u201d Reid explained.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> play on Monday, Oct. 6, at the Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium in a game on the NFL Week 5 schedule.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Jay Biggerstaff – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Jones has emphasized the importance of playing football even as he copes with the loss of a family member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5620,"featured_media":249094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,6431],"tags":[188,7811,298,1576],"class_list":["post-248986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs","category-nfl-teams","tag-andy-reid","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-chris-jones","tag-patrick-mahomes"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248986"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249096,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248986\/revisions\/249096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}