ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Malcolm Jackson is a rookie cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he has been around long enough to know that players at his position need a short memory. Corners have to be able to move on mentally from a bad play or odds are it will turn into another one.
Jackson couldn’t immediately move on from his mistake in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, because it was the final play of the game in regulation. Jackson allowed the Seahawks to complete a 37-yard Hail Mary for a touchdown as time expired.
Seattle won 17-16 on the next snap with a successful two-point conversion.
Jackson had no fault in the two-point play. But he was victimized on the touchdown, when he was a bystander until it was too late and Seattle’s 6-foot-6 wide receiver Tanner McEvoy was able to beat the 5-foot-11 Jackson in a jump ball situation.
That Jackson was in a preseason game in such a last-minute situation is an indication he’s a longshot to make the Chiefs regular-season roster. He was a late arrival to training camp, joining the Chiefs exactly one week before the Seattle game.
But after Monday's practice, the first such session since the game, Jackson vowed his time with the Chiefs won’t be defined by the Hail Mary, no matter how short it might be.
“It’s the competitor in me," Jackson said. “I definitely have been thinking about what I can do better the next time it comes around. I’ll definitely attack the ball, be more aggressive on the ball. When the ball’s in the air, I can’t play into the hands of the receiver when he’s a bigger guy.
“Going back and watching it, I kind of waited for the ball to get there. He was a bigger guy. I’ve got to use my athletic ability there."
Jackson played in college at Charleston Southern, where he was considered an NFL prospect. He wasn’t beat much there on Hail Marys on any other type of pass.
“I’ve always been a clutch kind of guy," he said. “When that situation came up, I always made the play. This was definitely a different role for me."
Jackson admitted to a rough Saturday night. He made the drive after the game from Kansas City to St. Joseph wondering whether there would still be a job waiting from him at the Chiefs' training camp. After arrival, sleep came in fits and starts.
On Sunday, a day off from practice, nobody from the Chiefs told him to pack up his things and turn in his playbook.
“My teammates were there to pick me up," he said. “Some of the older guys, like Marcus Peters, Ron Parker, and some of the younger guys, Shakiel Randolph and KeiVarae Russell, told me to keep my head up. They’ve definitely given me some encouragement to come out here and focus on getting better.
“I heard from some people back in Charleston and some family were supporting me. Even [Monday], when I came into the locker room, I heard from guys, ‘Hey, you all right? You good?’ Nobody burdened me, beat me down about it. There was definitely support for me."
Jackson couldn’t respond to his bad play on Saturday. But he did so Monday in the best way possible.
“I feel like I had a good practice," he said. “I came out and got better, which is what the coaches are always telling us to do. At [cornerback], you’ve got to be about the next play. That’s how we do it. Granted, there wasn’t a next play in the game, but there is at practice."
