The defining play of Monday night's thriller between Jacksonville and Kansas City has become a persistent topic in the Chiefs' media sessions this week.
Chris Jones would like to move on.
"We've just got to finish," the Chiefs defensive tackle said Wednesday, via The Associated Press. "We've got to finish. Multiple guys there that we've just got to finish that play. It was a fluke play for him to be able to break that many tackles. Yeah, I put it on us as a defense. We've got to finish."
Trevor Lawrence's haphazard, game-winning touchdown run required the quarterback to fall (after getting stepped on by a teammate), get back up and take off around the left end, breaking a tackle as he escaped before diving across the goal line for the score. Throughout the play, Jones stood and watched, almost as if he thought there wasn't even the slightest chance Lawrence would produce a touchdown out of the chaos.
"I thought multiple times we had him," Jones said after the 31-28 loss to Jacksonville.
Jones' assumption that Lawrence was going to be tackled was understandable. The play seemed to be doomed from the moment a guard stepped on Lawrence's foot, sending him stumbling to the turf.
But as head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday, that's no excuse for stopping entirely.
"You can't think that the guy is down. You can't think that," Reid said. "You have to play the play. He knows. He's been around this a long time. That's really what it came down to."
While the touchdown decided the game, but it certainly wasn't the only influential snap in a highly entertaining, back-and-forth affair in Jacksonville. Patrick Mahomes threw a red-zone interception returned by Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd for a memorable touchdown. Kansas City could have prevented Jacksonville from moving into scoring range, too, if not for Lawrence's dime of a deep pass to Brian Thomas Jr. -- or Chamarri Conner's pass interference penalty committed in the end zone on third-and-13.
Still, externally, the focus remained on Jones because of the importance of that individual play.
"A lot of guys are harping on the play," Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said of Lawrence's touchdown run, "but you have to keep your eyes where they're supposed to be. Guys are just trying to play fast and make a play. I'm not harping too much on what the outside people are saying. Everybody is doing their job to the best of their ability."
Bolton did his job in an earlier key spot, forcing a Lawrence fumble on the goal line. Jones can't quite say the same. At 2-3 with a prime-time game against the Lions upcoming on Sunday, the Chiefs are likely hoping it's the last time such a statement rings true.
"We're going to continue to bounce back," Jones said Monday night. "We've got a quick week, quick turnover for the week coming up. I think this group will bounce back. I think we're going to fix the errors that we can control, the penalties. Once we eliminate the penalties and play disciplined football, I think we'll put ourselves in good position to win."
