Velus Jones Jr. is in jeopardy of losing his job as the Bears primary return man. The rookie wide receiver once again made a critical error towards the end of the game, which played a critical role in the team’s loss. Jones Jr. muffed a punt inside the team’s 10-yard line, and the Commanders recovered the ball at the six-yard line, setting up Washington’s game-winning touchdown two plays later.
“We’re going to have to look at that,” said Matt Eberflus. “I mean the No. 1 job of any kick returner, punt returner is to catch the ball. So we’re going to have to look at that.”
Jones Jr. admitted he was trying to do too much, and that he should’ve never tried to field the ball in the first place. According to the rules on the play, Jones Jr. was supposed to let that ball go for a possible touchback.
“It wasn’t a smart play,” said Jones Jr. “I’m a man, I own up to my mistakes and that was a devastating blow. We wouldn’t be in that situation if that punt wasn’t muffed.”
It wasn’t the first punt he’s muffed this year, nor was it his only mistake of the night. Jones Jr. also let a ball bounce off his hands with just over two minutes left to play in Week 4 against the Giants that stymied any Bears’ hopes of a late comeback. On Thursday night, Jones Jr. also let a ball hit the ground which he shouldn’t have, and called for a fair catch with no defenders bearing down on him and plenty of room to run.
While the coaches will look to see if anyone can do the job better than Jones Jr., his teammates empathized with him and supported him. Khalil Herbert was the team’s main kick returner last season, so he understands what Jones Jr. was going through on that final punt return, given the windy conditions and fresh memories of his muffed punt in Week 4.
"It's tough,” Herbert told NBC Sports Chicago. “I definitely wouldn't want to be back there."
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DeAndre Houston-Carson has been the Bears’ most consistent special teams contributor dating back to his rookie season in 2016. He’s seen the full range of mishaps in the third phase and knows first hand how mistakes like Jones Jr.’s can take a toll on a player’s confidence.
“I don’t think people really understand just exactly how hard it is to put yourself out there on a consistent basis for the world to see you do what you do,” said Houston-Carson. “It takes a lot of courage to keep going back out there and standing up.”
Houston-Carson’s advice to Jones Jr. would be to stay courageous and to keep getting back up after he’s been knocked down. Jones Jr. did well to not let his muffed punt in Week 4 negatively affect him in Week 5, and his teammates expect him to be able to rebound again.
“We’re not pointing fingers,” said Jaquan Brisker. “There was literally a whole game out there, the whole game. It’s not just one play that affected us.”