Patriots' Chris Jones gets redemption vs. Jets after blocking FG attempt
New England Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones had to wait nearly a year to get redemption for a mistake that cost New England a victory against the New York Jets last year.
In a Week 7 contest last year between the two teams with the score tied at 27 in overtime, Jets kicker Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal attempt was wide left, but the kick was negated when Jones was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct for pushing a teammate into the Jets formation. It was the first time that penalty had ever been called in an NFL game.
Folk then made the game-winning 42-yard field goal, giving New York a 30-27 win.
During Thursday’s game, Folk again lined up for a potential game-winning 58-yard field goal attempt with the Jets trailing 27-25, but this time Jones blocked the kick.
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“When you hear the PING! that’s the football noise,” Jones said of the block, according to CSNNE.com. “The double ping…..It's much different. Feels a lot different than it did last year. It feels really good to feel that ball hit my hand and for us to get that win.”
The loss was New York’s sixth straight, while New England improved to 5-2.
“Really happy for Chris at the end,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “After what happened last year I think it was so fitting that he make that play.”
Jones said he was trying to get deep in the pocket on the field goal attempt and get his hands on the ball.
“God willing, I blocked it. [Folk] was 50-plus yards away so I knew it was going to be a line drive. I think it was just coming down to will at the end. We just had to see who could get the most push in the front and ended up getting it. We tried to rush them and get middle penetration,” Jones said. “Obviously, you have to throw your all-out block on when you’re in that situation and have the possibility of winning the game so we have to do all we can to block the kick.”
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