Chris Jones on the 'Self-Inflicted Wounds' and Silver Linings of the Chiefs' Defensive Performance vs. Raiders

Chris Jones discussed the Chiefs' struggles with "self-inflicted wounds" and the silver linings of KC's defensive performance in Friday's win over the Raiders.

Nov 29, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (12) is sacked by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to the playoffs with Friday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, but all phases of the team had ups and downs in a nail-biting Week 13 victory. After the game, defensive lineman Chris Jones discussed how he and the rest of the Chiefs' defense performed in a game where they allowed just 17 points while also nearly allowing a game-winning field goal attempt from Las Vegas.

Asked about the Chiefs' defensive success when the Raiders approached field goal range, Jones discussed some specifics from the game before assessing where the defense is now and what the unit still needs to improve on before the playoffs arrive.

"I think it's been a cohesive unit," Jones said. "Front-four rushing together, think George [Karlaftis] came up with a critical sack [to] knock them out. And also Nick [Bolton] down close to the 40-yard line knocked them out with the pass deflection. I think more so playing disciplined football, defensive-wise. Gave up a lot of errors today, last game also. I think we eliminate the small penalties and eliminate the big plays also — I think we gave up two or three bombs today — we eliminate the big plays and the penalties, I think we'll be where we want to be as a defense."

Providing more details about what worked better from the four-man pass rush against Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell as opposed to Sunday's struggles against Bryce Young's Carolina Panthers, Jones picked two highlights from Friday's win.

"Well, we got him down, for one," Jones said. "I think we've been rushing good overall as a group. We got Charles Omenihu back, who adds versatility to this line, inside-outside. I think this time, we were just able to get the quarterback down."

Will Jones remember the errors or the successes of Friday's victory more as the season goes on?

"I think it's more so the errors," Jones said. "The things you can correct, you know what I mean? Self-inflicted wounds. I had two offsides today. One gave them a first down and another one moved them closer, I've got to be better on that. And then just penalties. Pass interference penalties, hands to the face penalties, little things like that can add up throughout the season, especially in the playoffs. We want to get that in check, eliminate the smaller penalties, and then still play physical. Don't take away from the physicality part of how we play and our defense, but just correct the errors."

In light of the conversations the defense appears primed to have regarding those errors and self-inflicted mistakes, does Jones believe that the team can benefit from these close victories, using the experience in the playoffs?

"Absolutely," Jones said. "You look at the playoffs, most games are close, down-to-the-wire type of games. So it's a lot we can build from this as a team overall, and we're just gonna keep on winning, man. Keep on winning. You can learn a lot from winning. It's better to win than have a pretty loss. We'll take an ugly win, build from it, and continue to get better."

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