KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Defensive lineman Chris Jones was without a sack this season when he tried out a new pair of game gloves for the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Week 5 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jones got his first sack of the season that day. So he wore the gloves in the next week’s game against the New England Patriots. He got another sack.
Jones hasn’t changed gloves since and has at least one sack in 10 straight games, which ties an NFL record. He’ll go for the solo record Sunday night at the Seattle Seahawks.
“My gloves smell like a dead animal, but I won’t change them up because I’m very superstitious,” Jones said. “I won’t change the gloves at all. My teammates hate them. You can smell me coming.”
See what the latest playoff picture looks like and simulate your own playoff scenarios.
NFL Playoff Machine
The Chiefs will happily accept a foul aroma coming from Jones’ gloves because he’s having a breakthrough season. Jones has 14 sacks, which leads the Chiefs and is 2.5 behind the NFL leader, Aaron Donald of the Rams.
Somehow, Jones wasn’t selected for the Pro Bowl. He seemed at peace with the snub before practice on Wednesday.
“I try not to get into any of that,” Jones said.
Jones, who predicted in training camp that he would lead the NFL in sacks despite a total of 8.5 in two seasons entering this year, has his sights on more than Donald. He wants to break Justin Houston‘s Chiefs record of 22 set in 2014.
“That’s the plan,” Jones said. “There’s a long ways to go. I know it’s a long shot, but I feel like I can.”
Jones is hopeful he can at least catch Donald because of his superstitions, of which the gloves are only one. He also eats at the same chicken restaurant every Monday with the same two people — fellow defensive lineman Xavier Williams and former teammate Jarvis Jenkins — and has a standing order.
“Even if I’m not hungry. I have to get the same meal, which is a chicken sandwich, a milkshake — milkshakes are delicious — two chicken breasts and three orders of fries,” Jones said. “I don’t eat all of this. It’s just the fact that I got it one time, had success with it, and I feel like if something’s not broken, why fix it?
“I pick through it. Of course I’m going to finish the shake. The shake is like the best thing ever. Dessert is always the best part of dinner.”
It’s obvious from looking at him that Jones doesn’t finish a meal of that size. He reported for offseason work in the spring noticeably slimmer and about 25 pounds lighter than when he departed at the end of last season, and he’s playing at about 285 now.
“I don’t eat pork anymore,” Jones said, without a trace of longing. “I love bacon. I love breakfast food, period. But I stopped eating pork. I eat more fish. I’m like a pescetarian, you could say. I eat a lot of fish and a lot of vegetables. I don’t really eat meat. … I eat a lot of vegetables. I kind of get full off of vegetables and some type of protein.”
Coach Andy Reid indicated he was surprised at what he saw, or didn’t see, from Jones when he returned in April.
“You saw the change in his body and how he really took care of himself physically with diet and workouts and that this offseason,” Reid said. “His body fat is way down.
“He’s still got room to grow, which is great. He’s not tapped out by any means. I would tell you it all started in the offseason and now it’s paying off for him as the season’s gone on.”
Being in better shape has allowed the Chiefs to keep Jones, a second-round pick in 2016, on the field more often. He has played on about 65 percent of snaps, the highest percentage of his career.
“He’s out there all the time, and he’s getting a lot of shots at you,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. “He’s got such explosiveness that if you give him enough chances he’s just going to make a play. That’s kind of how it’s happened.
“Chris has done a great job of timing his rushes up and knowing what’s coming and making people miss, and he’s really hard to deal with.”
Source : ESPN
