By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer
PHOENIX — Chris Jones claims to have very little memory of a relatively benign game in 2017, when the Kansas City Chiefs welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to Arrowhead Stadium for the second game of the regular season.
Jason Kelce remembers it quite well.
The veteran Philadelphia center spent the afternoon lining up alongside Isaac Seumalo, who Jones proceeded to whip from start to finish. Then a relatively unknown second-year defensive tackle, Jones piled up three sacks that day.
“(Seumalo) played a guy early on that nobody knew about then that was, you know, the best defensive tackle in the NFL,” Kelce recalled. “I mean, I sure remember going into that game and we didn’t really talk much about Chris, to be honest with you. We didn’t have much of a plan for him because we thought it wasn’t going to be much of a big deal.
“And man,” Kelce said, “Isaac had a hard outing.”
You can bet the Eagles will have a better plan for dealing with Jones in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
In five-plus years since that game in Kansas City, the affable pass rusher has grown to rival the Rams’ Aaron Donald as just what Kelce said: the NFL’s best defensive tackle. He’s gone to the past four Pro Bowls, was voted second-team All-Pro three times and, this year, earned first-team honors along with being a finalist for AP Defensive Player of the Year.
He will learn whether he takes home that hardware at the NFL Honors on Thursday night.
“He’s so good, man. He makes it so hard on you,” said Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was sacked twice by Jones in the AFC title game. “He’s so big and strong. Physical. He really understands what you’re trying to do to him up front.”
In truth, nobody has quite figured out what to do with him.
Jones had 15½ sacks this season, despite facing constant double-teams, matching the 2018 season for the best of his career. He trailed only the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa,…
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