The Miami Dolphins signed Jack Jones late in the offseason as their cornerback room fell apart due to injuries and general incompetence. But senior personnel executive Champ Kelly, now the interim general manager, knew him from their days with the Las Vegas Raiders, so Miami took a gamble.
Jones was brought aboard with the understanding that he'd be a bit of a boom-or-bust kind of player for Anthony Weaver's defense. While he makes plenty of flashy plays, he also gives up a lot. Unfortunately, the latter has been more the story for him this year as a Dolphin than the former.
But on Sunday, he finally had a marquee moment in Miami's comeback overtime win against the Washington Commanders on international soil. He picked off Marcus Mariota's pass on the first play of overtime, perfectly situating the Dolphins to win with a field goal. They did just that.
Miami Dolphins CB Jack Jones apparently called his shot on OT interception
While it simply seemed like a great play made by Jones, and perhaps an ill-advised throw by Mariota, apparently, there was more to the story. After the game, linebacker Jordyn Brooks spoke to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques and revealed that Jones actually called his shot on the interception.
"If y’all stop the run, (Mariota’s) gonna throw me the ball because he can’t throw."Jack Jones to Jordyn Brooks on OT INT
Obviously, this comes across as a bit disrespectful of Mariota, who had a solid showing against Miami on Sunday. But fans also love to see this kind of confidence from their young players and hope that pivotal conversations like this are occurring in the heat of battle.
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Jones was certainly feeling confident before his big play, and he remained that way long after his game-defining moment against the Commanders, as he also took a moment to make a dig at the Raiders on social media after the game for releasing him early in the offseason.
Miami's defense had trouble against Washington's rushing attack, as has been par for the course for the season. But the team being able to overcome that and still win a defensive struggle, and a close game, for that matter, has to have the locker room and fan base suddenly feeling confident.
The Dolphins still need to figure out a way to be a bit more consistent, but more importantly, they need to keep finding ways to win. Jones' clutch interception ended up being that way in Week 11, and he was seemingly the least surprised person when things unfolded the way they did.