KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Chris Jones or anyone else across the NFL needed it, he received validation Wednesday that he’s one of the greatest defensive tackles in the league with his inclusion on the NFL Players Association’s inaugural Players’ All-Pro Team.
Jones tied his career-high for sacks in a season (15 1/2) with 2 1/2 sacks Saturday in a win at Las Vegas that clinched the No. 1 seed for the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Last year stuck with me,” Jones said. “I had two critical plays that I should have made that I missed (in the AFC Championship Game). We know how the game went.”
Jones and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald made the Players’ All-Pro Team as interior defensive linemen with Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants was picked for the team at nose tackle.
Jones said that, while the postseason failure against Cincinnati provided motivation, his relationship with new defensive line coach Joe Cullen helped elevate his game.
After beating the Raiders in the regular-season finale, Jones said Cullen “completely transformed my game” against the run and the pass.
He said Cullen put an emphasis on improving the defensive line’s performance against the run and making the four-time Pro Bowl selection “a more complete player.”
“He worked tremendously hard in the offseason,” Reid said of Jones. “... I think he and Joe Cullen hit it off, and they have a nice little thing going there chemistry-wise. I think that was a plus. Joe’s a master technician, especially in the pass-rush game.”
Jones, who set a career-high with 44 tackles this season, also had 15 1/2 sacks in 2018. He had nine in 2019 and 2021 with 7 1/2 in 2020.
Jones’ two sacks against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Chiefs’ home-opener on Sept. 15 were his only sacks in the first five weeks of the season.
He has at least a half-sack in 10 of the last 11 games.
Jones, who missed the Dec. 18 win at Houston, isn’t alone in closing the season strong among the defensive linemen.
Rookie defensive end George Karlaftis, who managed only a half-sack in his first 10 career games, collected 5 1/2 sacks in the final seven games, while defensive linemen Khalen Saunders and Mike Danna enjoyed the most-productive seasons of their careers.
Saunders, who had 33 tackles and one sack in 22 career games entering 2022, finished with 48 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks this season, while Danna posted career-highs in sacks (five) and tackles (27).
As the top seed in the AFC, Kansas City has a bye this weekend and will face the lowest remaining seed at Wild Card weekend in the AFC Divisional playoffs Jan. 21-22.
“It’s been fun, but we’ve still got a ways to go leading into the playoffs,” Jones said. “It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish. We finished in a good place, a good mindframe as a D-line overall. ... Most importantly, we have the same mindframe and passion towards pass-rushing. You know I love to pass rush, natural-born pass rusher.”
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