Tennessee center Ben Jones got hurt on the Titans’ second possession against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. He missed one offensive snap for Tennessee in a 19-10 victory.

So as Jones walked slowly into the tunnel on his way to the locker room after the game, Titans coach Mike Vrabel walked to greet him. In video captured by NFL Films, the coach embraced the offensive lineman and told Jones: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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Vrabel appeared to wipe his eyes and told the trudging Jones: “I love you like my own. You hear me?”

Injuries have not often deterred Jones from playing. During his time at Bibb County High School, Georgia and the NFL, Jones has missed one game – Tennessee’s 30-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 3, 2019.

Since entering the NFL as a fourth-round selection in the 2012 draft, Jones has played in 166 regular-season games – seven more than any other offensive lineman.

Jones doesn’t miss many plays either. In each of the previous eight seasons, Jones has played at least 900 offensive snaps, tied with Atlanta Falcons tackle Jake Matthews for the longest active streak in the league among offensive linemen. In five of those seasons, Jones played all his team’s offensive snaps.

At a March press conference after he’d signed a two-year, $14 million contract extension with the Titans, Jones credited his mother, Vickie, with instilling his ironman attitude long before he became an All-State selection for Bibb County in 2007. Jones’ father, Steve, died in a helicopter crash when the future NFL player was 10 years old.

“I love playing the game,” Jones said. “It’s not just about the money or anything like that. I love winning. I want to be out there with my teammates. If I’m not out there, I feel like I’m letting them down, so if I can go out there and get up, I’m going to play.

“My mom instilled that in me at a young age, growing up on the farm with her, and she was coaching our little league football, baseball, all of our sports, so she raised us the right way, the way I want to raise my kids.”

At his Monday press conference, Vrabel said he appreciated players such as Jones.

“I don’t think people realize what they go through,” Vrabel said, “… the toll that this game takes and what it can give you, but also what it can take away from you. They put a lot in and they compete and it’s violent. I’ve just really got a lot of respect for the majority of these guys that are finding ways no matter what each and every week, far less than 100 percent. During the game, things come up and they get evaluated and you can just tell that it means a lot to them, so I’m grateful to be able to work with them each every day.”

Vrabel declined to detail what he said to Jones.

“I just appreciate him; that’ll stay between me and Ben,” Vrabel said. “You come to work every day, you’re here a lot of hours and you get a lot of respect for guys the way they are as people, the way they are as teammates and players and parents and husbands. To be able to see what it means to these guys, it’s not just another game, it’s not just a paycheck, so I just really appreciate what they do.”

Tennessee has won its past four games after starting the season with a pair of losses. The Titans visit the Houston Texans at 3:05 p.m. CDT Sunday.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.