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.
The Patriots won a 10th consecutive game in dominating fashion, moving their NFL-best record to 11-2.
New England beat up on the Giants 33-15 on Monday Night Football.
The Patriots outgained the Giants 395 to 239, with Drake Maye continuing to make an MVP case. He went 24-of-31 for 282 yards and two touchdowns.
Maye completed passes to eight different receivers, with Hunter Henry catching four for 73. Kyle Williams had a 33-yard touchdown reception, and Kayshon Boutte scored on a 3-yard catch.
The Patriots dominated in all three phases, but three miscues by the Giants special teams allowed New England to run away with it.
Marcus Jones returned a Jamie Gillan punt 94 yards for a touchdown for an early 10-0 lead. The Patriots returner now holds the NFL record for career punt return average.
Giants kicker Younghoe Koo’s kicking foot stuck in the turf as he approached the ball for a 47-yard field-goal try. Instead of the Giants cutting the Patriots’ lead to 17-7, Giants holder Jamie Gillan was sacked for a 13-yard loss by Jeremiah Pharms.
Late in the first half, Giants returner Gunner Olszewski took a vicious helmet-to-helmet delivered by Christian Elliss, who also had a hard — but legal — hit on Jaxson Dart along the sideline in the first quarter. Olszewski went directly to the sideline medical tent after losing the ball with 3:23 remaining in the half, and he was ruled out with a concussion.
The Patriots used that for a 30-yard field goal from Andy Borregales with 1:48 remaining in the half. Borregales kicked a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the first half for a 30-7 halftime lead.
Borregales went 4-for-5, with a miss from 45 yards, as the Patriots went only 1-of-5 in the red zone.
In nine possessions, the Giants had four punts and turned it over on downs three times. Dart was 17-of-24 for 139 yards and a touchdown. Devin Singletary had 12 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown, and Darius Slayton caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
The Giants are 2-11.
Giants running back Tyrone Tracy was injured with 10:28 remaining in Monday Night Football.
A hit by Anfernee Jennings on a running play for a 2-yard loss injured Tracy. He was taken off the field by two athletic trainers, unable to put weight on his left leg.
He sat in the passenger seat of the cart for a ride from the sideline into the training room.
The Giants list Tracy as questionable to return with a hip injury.
Running back Terrell Jennings left with a concussion in the first half.
The Giants will finish the game with Devin Singletary and Eric Gray as their running backs.
Drake Maye left the field at halftime to chants of “M-V-P!”
The Patriots quarterback continued to make a case for it, completing 16 of 20 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots lead 27-7 at halftime.
Maye completed passes to eight different receivers, with Hunter Henry leading the way with two catches for 45 yards. Kyle Williams caught a 33-yard touchdown pass and Kayshon Boutte a 3-yarder.
The Giants had a chance to cut the Patriots’ lead to 17-7, but Younghoe Koo’s kicking foot stuck in the turf as he approached the ball for a 47-yard field-goal try. Holder Jamie Gillan was sacked for a 13-yard loss by Jeremiah Pharms.
It was one of three back-breaking miscues by the Giants special teams. They also allowed a 94-yard punt return by Marcus Jones, who now holds the NFL record for career punt return average, and fumbled a kickoff.
Giants returner Gunner Olszewski took a vicious helmet-to-helmet delivered by Christian Elliss, who also had a hard — but legal — hit on Jaxson Dart along the sideline in the first quarter. Olszewski went directly to the sideline medical tent after losing the ball with 3:23 remaining in the half, and he is being evaluated for a concussion.
The Patriots used that for a 30-yard field goal from Andy Borregales with 1:48 remaining in the half. He added a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The Patriots outgained the Giants 270 to 104, scoring on five of six possessions.
Dart went 8-of-11 for 67 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He threw a short pass to Darius Slayton, who took it 30 yards to the end zone. Slayton has two carries for 41 yards, and Devin Singletary has nine carries for 40 yards.
The Patriots ruled out running back Terrell Jennings with a concussion.
For the second time in three games, the Giants benched rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter.
Carter was on the sideline, dressed in a winter coat, for the entire first quarter. The Patriots had two possessions in the first 15 minutes, but only because Marcus Jones returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that Carter violated team rules by missing a Giants’ team responsibility.
Carter was benched for the first defensive series of the Week 11 game against the Packers for what he called “a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team.” But he took issue with a report concerning the specific mistake he made.
He denied sleeping through a 15-minute walkthrough and instead said he was in a recovery bed in the training facility as part of his training regimen.
