Michael David Smith ,
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Patriots punt returner Marcus Jones broke an NFL record on Monday night that had stood for 75 years.
The record for the most yards per punt return had belonged to former Bears punt returner George McAfee, who played from 1940 to 1950 and averaged 12.78 yards returning punts in his career. To qualify for that record, a player needs at least 75 career punt returns.
On Monday night, Jones made a spectacular play on the 75th punt return of his career, taking it back 94 yards for a touchdown . Jones ended the night with three punt returns for 124 yards, which gives him 77 punt returns for 1,127 yards in his career. That gives him a career average of 14.64 yards per punt return, breaking McAfee’s record by nearly two full yards.
After the game, Jones credited his father and his blockers.
“Whenever my dad had me in a parking lot when I was like 4 years old, he used to throw the ball in the air and be like, ‘Track it.’ That was the first thing I thought about,” Jones said. “It’s a long journey with punt returns. Everyone doesn’t want to do it. I find a lot of joy when it comes down to it. At the end of the day, ever since I got in the league, I would say the guys that have been blocking for me, I commend them 24/7. Without them I would not be able to get any yards.”
Jones knows that opposing punters often give him high and short punts because they want to limit returns, and he says he needs to balance being aggressive with being smart.
“The main thing is decision making,” Jones said. “Of course I want to be aggressive, but I also have to be smart at the same time. Whenever there are punts up there I got to go ahead and fair catch, but I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get, so whenever I get time I try to make a play.”
Jones has made a lot of plays in his NFL career.
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