Chandler Jones is going for DPOY!" - LeBron James hypes Cardinals LB after five-sack performance
The Arizona Cardinals couldn't have expected the explosive performance they got from edge rusher Chandler Jones. Jones had 97 career sacks entering Week One. Jones erupted for five sacks against the Tennessee Titans to cross the 100 mark. What makes that even more extraordinary is that they all came in the first three quarters.
The sports world took notice of Chandler Jones's dominance on Sunday. Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James was one to take notice. James took to Twitter to voice his appreciation for what he was witnessing. James claimed that Jones is on his way to winning defensive player of the year.
Chandler Jones is DPOY after Week 1
Jones was seemingly everywhere on Sunday against the Titans. The Titans had a stable starting tackle duo of Taylor Lewan and David Quessenberry. Lewan has made three pro-bowls in his career.
This didn't matter to Jones. Jones added two forced fumbles to his stat line along with five sacks. The Cardinals recovered one of his fumbles and returned it to the one-yard line of the Titans. That led to one of five touchdowns scored by Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Jones caused pressure against a Titans team that struggled to find rhythm under new offensive coordinator Todd Downing. The Cardinals had three total takeaways that helped them win the time of possession battle.
The Titans offense was regularly stalled against Jones
The Titans' offense looked nothing like the Titans' offense from 2020. Most notably, Derrick Henry was unable to find any room to run. Henry's final stat line was 17 rushes for 58 yards. But in the first half, Henry was met with a plethora of Cardinals jerseys at every attempt.
The Titans' offensive line simply didn't play well, but Chandler Jones deserves all the recognition for his performance. Jones primarily battled Lewan and used a combination of moves to get to Ryan Tannehill. He dipped underneath Lewan. He overpowered him and had better technique. It was a one-sided battle.
The Titans were a dreaded 5 of 14 on third-down attempts. A.J. Brown and Julio Jones combined for just seven catches and 78 yards. Tannehill had no shot at letting his wide receivers get open due to the constant pressure he faced.
If Jones continues at this pace, he'll be the runaway DPOY. Keep in mind that it's a long season and it'll be difficult to keep this pace up, but if Jones does, LeBron James will be right and Chandler Jones will win DPOY.