Titans vs. Chiefs: Chris Jones ‘trending toward being active’
Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones looks like he might play in the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to have any hope of slowing down Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry in the AFC Championship Game, they’re going to need star defensive lineman Chris Jones.
Jones, who has been battling a calf injury and was inactive in the divisional round against the Houston Texans, only practiced once this week (on Friday) and it was in a limited fashion.
Earlier in the day, James Palmer of NFL Network reported that there was “not a ton of optimism” in regard to Jones playing and that he didn’t do much on Friday aside from simply getting loose.
However, according to Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports, Jones is “trending toward being active” for Sunday’s big game.
Still an hour away from a final decision but Chris Jones trending toward being active, I’m told.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) January 19, 2020
While on the surface this is good news for the Chiefs, there is simply no telling how effective Jones will be even if he takes the field. From what we’ve seen, even if he suits up he won’t be at 100 percent and that could seriously hinder his performance.
Still, a less than 100 percent Chris Jones is better than no Chris Jones at all.
The biggest focus of the Chiefs’ defense will be stopping Henry, who torched Kansas City for 188 yards and two scores in the Titans’ Week 10 win over the Chiefs at Nissan Stadium. Jones was on the field for that game, totaling eight tackles and two sacks.
Inactives will be released an hour and a half before the 2:05 p.m. CST kickoff, so we’ll know for sure then whether or not Jones will play.
Of course, the winner of Sunday’s game between Tennessee and Kansas City will be the AFC representative in Super Bowl LIV against either the Green Bay Packers or San Francisco 49ers.