New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 11 of the NFL’s 2022 season.
The rookie from Enterprise High School and Troy won the award after returning a punt 84 yards for a touchdown with five seconds to play to lift New England to a 10-3 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
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With the first punt-return touchdown in the NFL this season, Jones became the sixth player in the AFC/NFC era to win a game with a punt return in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime.
Jones had the second-latest game-winning punt-return touchdown in regulation in the past 53 seasons, trailing only a 65-yarder by the Philadelphia Eagles’ DeSean Jackson with no time remaining on Dec. 19, 2010, in a 38-31 victory over the New York Giants.
Jones returned four punts for 109 yards in Sunday’s game. He’s the only player with more than 82 punt-return yards in a game this season.
Jones has returned 17 punts for a 16.6-yard average and 14 kickoffs for a 24.3-yard average in 2022.
The other award winners for Week 8 of the 2022 season were Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, NFC Offensive; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, AFC Offensive; Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, NFC Defensive; Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano, AFC Defensive; and Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson, NFC Special Teams.
Seven other players with Alabama football roots have won a Player of the Week award this season. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) was the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2, Denver Broncos punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 3, Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson (Fort Payne) was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 4, New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (Wenonah, Alabama) was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (Alabama) was the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 8 and Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
