Here’s why Andy Reid dogpiled on Chris Jones after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took an overtime snap in shotgun formation, and immediately after he faked a handoff to Christian McCaffrey running in motion, three receivers broke open.

The Chiefs would eventually prevail in Super Bowl LVIII, 25-22 in overtime, but among 71 offensive snaps, this is one the 49ers will have a tough time forgetting.

They sat nine yards from a touchdown on their lone overtime possession, and when Purdy dropped back, there were those three receivers, ready to provide a seven-point lead. One of them, Brandon Aiyuk, got so wide open after Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed slipped that he put his hands on his head when the ball didn’t come his way.

Another, Jauan Jennings, ran a whip route that put cornerback Jaylon Watson two steps behind. The tight end, George Kittle, was briefly left uncovered after the snap.

And with all of those options in front of him, Purdy, well, threw the ball away.

Why? Chris Jones spoiled everything.

Oh, and one more tidbit to note: Chiefs coach Andy Reid had all but forced Jones, while exhausted, to get on the field for the play.

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The 49ers had a lapse in their protection on the third-down snap, one dependent on Jones following McCaffrey’s jet motion. But Jones didn’t bite. He instead read the play and sprinted straight toward Purdy, who panicked and threw it away.

The 49ers would have to settle for three. The Chiefs would respond with seven. Game over.

Jones is one of three Chiefs — Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce the others — to start all three Super Bowl victories over the past half-decade.

He was the only one, however, on the receiving end of an Andy Reid dogpile.

As part of the celebration after the game, Reid playfully knocked Jones to his back — then hopped on top of him as Jones, albeit visibly exhausted, laughed.

On Wednesday, in response to a question from The Star’s Vahe Gregorian, Reid explained that post-game interaction had a backstory.

“I’d kind of been riding him a little bit. We needed him in there. He was spent, and he was tired, but he sucked it up and he got out there,” Reid said. “He pushed himself — probably further than he thought he could push himself. He took himself to that state — that wrestling state — where you have to really reach down in there and kind of get through that evil thing that’s kicking your butt internally.

“He did that. And I was so proud of him for that.”

Jones had zero sacks Sunday. But quarterback pressures are a better measurement of a pass rusher’s true influence on a game.

Because that wasn’t the only touchdown Jones saved.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the 49ers put Purdy on the move with a rollout to his right. By the time he planted his feet, Deebo Samuel was open and calling for the ball as he approached the end zone. He had three yards on the nearest defender. He, too, was wide open.

Purdy got that throw off — technically — but Jones beat his man and hit Purdy as he contorted his body on the release. It sailed out of the end zone.

That’s two plays Jones blew up the backfield.

They saved a combined eight points.

In a game that went to overtime.

Jones got lost in the Patrick Mahomes, Mecole Hardman, Travis Kelce and Trent McDuffie shuffle in the Super Bowl postgame. But he was as consistently good as any player on the field. He led the team with six pressures on his 35 pass rush snaps, per Next Gen Stats.

It’s what he has been doing it all year — though whether he does it here in Kansas City next year is a question that the next five weeks will answer. We made a big deal out of Jones’ 10th sack in the regular season finale, because, well, his literal deal made it a $1 million sack. But that’s cutting short the season he produced.

His impact far exceeds the sack total. Jones finished second in the NFL among interior defensive linemen with 75 pressures in the regular season, which is his third straight season finishing in the top-three and sixth straight year in the top-five.

And for all of the talk about his sack-less streak in the postseason, he’s generated 37 pressures in his last seven playoff games, a remarkable rate for his position.

So, yeah, it’s no wonder that Reid insisted Jones found a way to be on the field in overtime. Three plays into that drive, Jones lay on his back after a whistle, requiring Tershawn Wharton to help him up. He’d take a three-play break.

He returned by the time that third-down snap arrived.

The box score read an incomplete pass. The film showed a defensive lineman saving four points.

For the second time.