How Jack Jones Got His Big Moment

Jack Jones came to the Miami Dolphins this summer with a reputation for making big plays but also give them up while being too aggressive.

Boy, he sure has delivered a couple of doozies for the Dolphins the past two games, none bigger than the overtime interception that led the 16-13 overtime victory against the Washington Commanders.

This came following the forced fumble last week in the big 30-13 victory against the Buffalo Bills.

For his big pick against the Commanders, it simply was a matter of letting the play come to him and then get aggressive once it was there to be made.

"Actually, I saw the tight end, he chipped," Jones said after the game. "Once he chipped, he tried to sneak across the formation. I had good eyes. And that's what Coach (Anthony Weaver) Weav is hitting on us about all year. And really me specifically, because I'm an aggressive corner and my eyes could be my weak spot, he was just hitting on me, you know, good eyes, good eyes, good eyes. I saw a tight end chip, had good eyes and tried to go across the formation and just went to steal.

"Actually this year I've been feeling like I've been trying to tone down my aggression, and I'm saying it just play to the system and do my job and don't try to do nothing more, because plays are gonna come to me. So just make the plays that come to me and don't try to overreach."

JONES' JOURNEY

This was the high point in Jones' comeback, which started when he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason and then signed by the Dolphins in late July.

The Dolphins are Jones' third team, and he'd like to stick around a while after his career might have been in jeopardy after on-field inconsistency and off-the-field issues.

"There's all sorts of stories like that littered among NFL team; that one's pretty special because he's had some adversity and had an opportunity here," head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game. "We talked about it right when he came in, he came hugged me and thanked me, and I thanked him. Because you can't change the past, but you can recognize a an opportunity, one that it was his to take on, but the recourse of failure was probably the end of his career, and he knew that.

"I think guys galvanize around him. He plays the style of ball we we really are fond of. He's very convicted. I saw on that last interception. We talked about as a team a ton, but we are not searching for perfection. We're not searching to be perfect. We're searching for conviction. And he saw the ball out, took an aggressive angle, was very convicted, and then utilized one of the strengths of his game, which is plays on the ball.

"He had a forced fumble last week that was monumental in our win, and got his hands on the football again, this time with an interception. So he's really doing a great job taking advantage of the opportunity. And walking into the locker room, I think he really appreciated the team chanting or doing a Jack Jones song, considering it was fresh on his mind how far he'd come. And we all can appreciate that."

And Jones most definitely appreciates the Dolphins giving him an opportunity this summer.

"I'm truly blessed to be here," Jones said. "Man, if the type of offseason I was going through this past offseason, I didn't know if I was gonna be on the team or not, so I mean, just being here if there's plays made and no plays made, I'm blessed and I'm happy, and I thank Coach, and I think (owner Stephen) Ross giving me this opportunity. I'm happy about everything."