KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Last week, Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones admitted the obvious: Like in each of the past two years, he's off to a slow start.
But even by Jones' usual high standards, his production this season -- or lack of it -- has been more than just slow. It's been snail-like.
Through seven games, Jones, a six-time All-Pro, has generated 13 tackles (tied for 421st among all defenders), three quarterback hits (tied for 134th), two pass deflections (tied for 156th), a fumble recovery (tied for ninth) and half of a sack (tied for 261st).
"I always can be better," Jones said last week. "I'm my biggest critic."
Although Jones is still quick once the ball is snapped, he has been unable to make the splashy, highlight-worthy plays that typically define his game. Too often, the opposing quarterback has been able to evade Jones to either complete a pass or scramble for a positive gain.
Over the past two games -- losses to the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos -- Jones has failed to record a tackle, a pass deflection or a quarterback hit in his 87 combined snaps.
Jones' play is reflected in the advanced metrics, too. Entering Sunday's game against the New York Jets (1 p.m. ET, CBS), he has produced 14 pressures (tied for 25th) and has a pass rush win rate of 13.1% (ranked 35th) when playing from the interior, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Through seven games last season, Jones had 20 pressures (tied for 11th) and a pass rush win rate of 18.6% when playing from the interior (fifth).
As the Chiefs' oldest and longest-tenured defender, Jones, 32, refused to use his age as a reason for his decline.
"I feel pretty good," he said. "It's all about perspective, again, how you look at it. I've played a lot of games, fortunately. I've been very, very blessed to be successful in this league for a long time. I've seen a lot. I don't think my age right now is playing a factor. We've just got to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves."
One issue is the number of double-teams Jones has faced. Against the Seahawks and Broncos, Jones, who has seen the eighth-most double-teams in the league, was regularly double-teamed.
"I mean, that's part of the game," Jones said. "It's expected. For me, it's capitalizing on moments I don't get double-teamed. We can't fight the respect level of being double-teamed. I have to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves."
He had limited such opportunities against Denver on Sunday. One came in the first quarter: Jones, who had a one-on-one with right guard Quinn Meinerz, won the battle quickly and forced quarterback Bo Nix into an incompletion on a third-and-2 snap that led to a punt. The matchup between the two occurred again early in the second quarter. This time, Nix negated Jones' beating Meinerz by climbing the pocket and connecting with receiver Jaylen Waddle for a 35-yard gain.
For much of the rest of the game, the Broncos either doubled Jones or had Nix pass from designed rollouts away from wherever Jones lined up.
"Chris is giving it his all," coach Andy Reid said Monday. "He's doing everything he can do. He gets doubled from various angles. He's going to draw a lot of attention. That's an advantage to the other guy to have a chance to get themselves home. As much emphasis is put on Chris, let's take advantage of that and get ourselves on the quarterback. Just not to the quarterback, but on the quarterback."
Compounding the issue is the Chiefs' other pass rushers not named Jones or George Karlaftis -- such as defensive ends Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Ashton Gillotte and rookie R Mason Thomas -- haven't consistently won the one-on-one matchups Jones' presence has been creating for them. On Sunday, the Chiefs pressured Nix on only two of his 34 dropbacks (6%), marking the lowest pressure rate by any team in a game this season.
Jones voiced his frustration after Sunday's game.
"It's only one thing: Rush the passer, get the quarterback down," Jones said. "We blocked a couple of balls, but I don't think we got [Nix] down. I put that on the D-line. We've got to win our one-on-ones. We've got to take advantage of that. We get a one-on-one, we've got to win it."
The Chiefs have collected nine sacks all season, which is tied with the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins for the fewest in the league. Before the season began, the team was optimistic they had improved their pass rush after recording the fifth-fewest sacks (35) in the league (the D-line recorded 21.5).
There's plenty of season left to play, however, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is hopeful Jones particularly will have a pass-rushing revival, starting with Sunday's game against the Jets.
"We're just going to rely on him to find a way to win," Spagnuolo said of Jones. "Hopefully, at some point, it all falls together."
Last season, Jones played his best in the Chiefs' final 10 games. During that stretch, he recorded five sacks and had a pass rush win rate of 20.5%, the fifth-highest mark in the league. That performance also included successful rushes that led to 16 incompletions, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
That's why Jones believes he can have another memorable second half in 2026, one that helps the Chiefs return to the postseason.
"I watch a lot of Kobe Bryant, and he [talked] about adversity and how you'll face storms," Jones said last week. "You've got to be ready when a storm passes. Eventually, it's going to pass. I don't waver my faith or my belief in myself or my work ethic that I put in."