GREEN BAY, Wisc. — Opportunity knocked for Jack Jones at Lambeau Field, and the Patriots’ rookie was more than ready to answer it.
Given the start at boundary cornerback in place of an injured Jalen Mills, Jones forced a pair of takeaways and took one to pay dirt. On the second defensive snap of the game, he punched the ball away from Romeo Doubs after a bubble screen and recovered his own forced fumble.
Jones’ second takeaway was even more impressive.
Just before halftime, Aaron Rodgers was staring Allen Lazard down on an out route, and the rookie cornerback stepped in front of his receiver and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Improbably, the Patriots took a 10-7 lead into halftime.
“Personally, I feel like it’s disrespectful to throw an out route on me,” Jones said. “If you can throw ball past me to get to the receiver, I’m no good.”
When he saw nothing but green space in front of him after securing the interception, Jones was ecstatic.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Jones said. “Usually it’s hard to score on defense. Just to get a pick is hard on defense. When I got the pick, I’d seen nothing but open field. I just ran. I just kept going.”
It went as both the first touchdown and interception of his NFL career, and the fourth-round pick chalked it up to just playing the fundamentals well.
“I was just reading my keys,” Jones said. “He threw it outside. I had a chance to make a play on the ball, and by the blessing of God, I made a play and took it to the house.”
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