What an ending in Foxborough! The New England Patriots defeated the rival New York Jets 10-3 on Sunday. A game mired by 17 punts reached its thrilling conclusion via a punt.
With the score tied 3-3 with 26 seconds left, the Jets punted away to the Patriots. Return man Marcus Jones was back to field the kick. The rookie cornerback who starred at Troy and Houston had been a special teams contributor this season. He’d yet to score a touchdown though. It turned out that Jones might have just been waiting for the most dramatic moment possible to make an impact on the scoreboard.
Jones fielded the kick and the rest was history.
MARCUS JONES!!! That's all we can say. pic.twitter.com/SL04Y0OG6l
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 20, 2022
A thriller of an ending. One awfully reminiscent of the last time this situation happened. Eerily enough, it involved a New York football team and a hated divisional rival. While the Miracle at the Meadowlands II had a lot more drama and entertainment than this game, the grand finale registered just the same.
The NFL world erupted after the dramatic conclusion to the game.
Some offered comedic responses to the result both pre and post. ESPN NFL personality Mina Kimes first tweeted, “If Jets Pats goes to OT they gotta give each offense an extra player. Like a ghost runner. Then she later tweeted, “Marcus Jones, thank you.”
If Jets Pats goes to OT they gotta give each offense an extra player. Like a ghost runner.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 20, 2022
Marcus Jones,,,,,,,,thank you
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) November 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/IanSteeleABC6/status/1594441500733186048
Marcus Jones did this a lot at Houston 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/S1tsCpxkeQ
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) November 20, 2022
Wrote this about Marcus Jones in my cornerback preview for the 2022 NFL Draft: pic.twitter.com/MQbNQtmTu9
— Eddie C. Brown III (@UTEddieBrown) November 20, 2022
DaMarcus Mitchell, Brenden Schooler, and Raleigh Webb all set key blocks here to spring Marcus Jones.
Rookies! https://t.co/vZlHAZPB8A
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) November 20, 2022
Prior to Marcus Jones' game-winning punt return TD in the game's final seconds, neither team had higher than a 70% chance to win the game at any point according to the NGS win probability model.#NYJvsNE | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/Jix2UW7dnm
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 20, 2022
The Jets against the Patriots today:
Completions – 9
Punts – 10 pic.twitter.com/xVbKN6feBE— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 20, 2022
[Photo Credit: CBS]
