FOXBOROUGH — Marcus Jones hasn’t played a snap on offense for the Patriots this season.
He’s still scored three touchdowns.
The electric punt returner found the end zone in the first quarter of Monday’s 33-15 win over the Giants, finding a seam in New York’s coverage and bolting 94 yards for a score. It was his second punt return touchdown of the season, and Jones already had a pick-six on his resume, too.
“My main thing was, ‘Don’t get tackled by the punter,’” Jones smiled.
When Jones got back to the sideline, his wide receiver teammates had a little fun with him.
“We had a joke on the sideline saying like, ‘Damn, we want to play too Marcus. Give us a little bit of love,’” Stefon Diggs said.
With the offense getting ready to take the field as Jones fielded the punt at his own 6-yard line, Kayshon Boutte said there was a quick change of plans.
“We get a lot of energy,” Boutte said. “Actually, we were on the sideline saying, ‘We’re about to go back on the field.’ Then all of a sudden he takes it back, and then we were saying, ‘Sit our ass back down.’”
Mike Vrabel called Jones “a fantastic returner” after the game and Diggs believed the 2022 All-Pro deserved league-wide recognition.
“(Expletive), it’s exciting,” Diggs said. (Expletive), I know Pro Bowl, but I think he’s an All-Pro player… if they have an all-around athlete he should damn sure be in the conversation. He’s returning, he’s covering, he’s exciting. He brings a lot of juice.”
For Jones, it all goes back to catching footballs with his father as a child.
“I think of those situations where my dad had me in a parking lot when I was like four years old,” Jones said. “And he used to throw the ball in the air and be like, ‘Track it.’ That was the first thing I thought about. It is a long journey, especially with punt returners. Not everyone wants to do it, but I find a lot of joy when it comes down to it.
“But at the end of the day, ever since I got into the league, I would say the guys that have been blocking for me, I commend them 24/7. Without them, I would not be able to get any yards, I can honestly say. I commend my guys out there and everything like that, I try to just make them right. They do the hard part out there. I just follow the blocks and go from there.”
