Breaking Down Chandler Jones' Monster Week 2 Performance

After playing out of position and looking out of sorts against the Miami Dolphins, Chandler Jones regained his edge by lining up on the edge against the Minnesota Vikings.

A change of scenery saw Jones explode with two sacks, five quarterback hurries, a blocked field goal—on which he scored a touchdown—and multiple impact plays against the run. He was awarded with a whopping plus-8.9 rating from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Jones wasn't going against some practice-squad player. He spent the majority of the day in the sights of former first-round pick Matt Kalil, who gave up only two total pressures last week to the vaunted St. Louis Rams line. Kalil was hit with six total pressures allowed against the Patriots.

The addition of fellow 2012 first-round pick Dont'a Hightower to the pass rush mix—his eight total pressures lead the team—has certainly helped his cause, but Jones had a lot of impressive solo plays against the Vikings. 

Let's take a look at three of the best.

It didn't take Jones to get warmed up, with his first impact play coming with over 14 minutes left in the first quarter.

Standing up as an outside linebacker, Jones sees the Vikings in "12" personnel with tight end Rhett Ellison lined up across from him. Jarius Wright begins to motion across the formation and gets the handoff on the jet sweep. This is where Jones begins to dominate.

Despite his 6'5" frame, Jones gets underneath Ellison and fully extends his arms through his would-be blocker. Ellison is propelled five yards off the line of scrimmage into the path of Wright, resulting in the simple tackle for loss for Jones.

Without incredible upper- and lower-body strength, that play isn't possible. To complement his power, Jones showed off his speed and balance later in the first quarter.

Jones is lined up on the edge again, with the Patriots in what looks like a 3-4 "over" set. Meanwhile, the Vikings are sporting an unbalanced line, with two tight ends on the strong side. They have "12" personnel, but the slippery Cordarrelle Patterson had motioned into the backfield as a second running back.

Jones sets up Kalil with a stutter to the inside and then converts to the speed rush outside. The Viking left tackle looks like he will be able to push Jones out of the picture and behind his quarterback Matt Cassel, but Jones is able to anchor while dipping his shoulder and turning the arc.

Initially, Cassel is able to flit away from Jones' grasp, but he is chased down from behind by the hustling Patriot. Without his offseason focus on his lower body, that play would have never been possible.

As impressive as the prior two plays were, nothing can compare to the impact provided by Jones' blocked field goal. It changed the game from a one-possession game to a three-possession game in the span of some 15 odd seconds.

Jones was lined up third from the right in a six-man bunch on the defensive left. Vince Wilfork did a good job getting a blocker off balance and Jones did the rest, using a quick swim move to stay clean. As Rob Ninkovich occupied the blocker to Jones' left, he was able to pick his way through some cleats, leap and extend his long arms to make the block.

Picking up the ball after a fortuitous bounce, he was off to the races.

Expect Jones' strong play from Week 2 to bleed into Week 3 as the Oakland Raiders await. If you happen to be friends with Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, you might want to bring him some warm milk or learn a new lullaby. He won't be sleeping much this week.