By JAMES COHEN, SPORTS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A Kansas City Chiefs star has deactivated his social media accounts after facing heavy backlash from fans in the wake of their defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Travis Kelce and Co were beaten 31-28 by the Jaguars in a thrilling Monday Night Football showdown which was settled with one of the final plays of the game.
With just 30 seconds remaining in the fourth, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence rushed into the end zone after remarkably recovering from two stumbles following the snap.
There was plenty of time for the Chiefs defense to adjust to the play and attempt a stop but footage later showed a lackluster effort from the visiting players.
In particular, defensive tackle Chris Jones was singled out by frustrated supporters over his role in the chaotic and seemingly improbably touchdown run.
Jones appeared to stop once Lawrence seemed to stumble, before reacting too late to stop the Jags QB once he had recovered and rushed towards the end zone.
Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones has deactivated his social media amid fan backlash
Jones (95) came under criticism for his role in the Jaguars’ game-winning touchdown
Jones was practically at a stand-still by the time Jaguars QB Lawrence reached the end zone
Fans were quick to voice their frustrations with Jones and, shortly after the game, some noticed that the Chiefs star had deactivated both his Twitter and Instagram.
Posting a clip of the game-winning touchdown, one fan said: ‘I’ve watched this play 100 times now… Still can’t figure out…
‘Can somebody tell me what Chris Jones – number 95 – is doing here with the entire game on the line? Not even gonna TRY?’
Another said: ‘Chris jones I love you, but your effort on this play with the game on the line genuinely makes me want to punch a hole in my wall. This is f***ing pathetic’.
Similarly, one said: ‘It’s time to have a conversation about Chris Jones this season.
‘He’s spent more time pouting and throwing tantrums on the sideline than he has making plays on the field. Inexcusable effort on the Lawrence touchdown’.
When interviewed after the game, Jones explained that ‘thought we had him’ and labelled Lawrence’s touchdown as a ‘fluke play’.
He told reporters: ‘I thought multiple times we had him. We just got to finish. We’ve got to finish. We got multiple guys there that we just got to finish that play.
‘It was a fluke play for him to be able to break that many tackles. But yeah, I put it on us as a defense. We’ve got to finish. You know, we’ve got to bring him down on that.’
Jones seemingly deactivated both his Twitter and Instagram accounts in wake of the backlash
Fans did not hold back in their brutal analysis of Jones’ efforts on social media
Elsewhere on the night, Patrick Mahomes threw a disastrous pick six as the Jacksonville Jaguars condemned the Chiefs to their third defeat of the season.
Mahomes completed 29 of his 41 passes for 318 yards, a touchdown and, disastrously, a 99-yard pick six.
Late in the third quarter of Monday’s game, the Chiefs quarterback tried to find JuJu Smith-Schuster in the end zone on a 2nd-and-goal, only for Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd to pick him off at Jacksonville’s two-yard line.
Lloyd then brushed off Travis Kelce and dodged out the way of a flying Mahomes as he desperately tried to stop him, before getting past Kareem Hunt and running almost 100 yards for a breathtaking touchdown.
