Charlie Jones has become a fan of the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rules. The Bengals wide receiver is the first player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns since the new rules were implemented last season. On Sunday, Jones returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a score against the Chicago Bears. He avoided a diving tackle attempt by Bears kicker Cairo Santos before going up the left sideline untouched. Of the nine kickoffs run back for touchdowns since last season, Jones is the only one to have done it twice on the game’s opening kickoff. The new rules aim to reduce high-speed collisions.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Charlie Jones has certainly become a fan of the NFL's dynamic kickoff rules.
The Bengals wide receiver became the first player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns since the new rules were put in place last season.
Jones returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a score during Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
Jones got a great seam near the numbers on the left side of the field and avoided a diving tackle attempt by Bears kicker Cairo Santos at the Bengals 49 before going up the left sideline untouched. The third-year wide receiver then leaped into the stands to celebrate with fans.
Of the nine kickoffs run back for touchdowns since last season, Jones is also the only one who has run both back on the game's opening kickoff. He had a 100-yard return during last season's Week 7 matchup at Cleveland.
The dynamic kickoff rule put in place last season, and made permanent this year, made kickoffs more like scrimmage plays. It placed coverage players and blockers closer together to eliminate the high-speed collisions that caused injuries in past seasons.
Owners also voted in April to move touchbacks on kicks that reach the end zone on the fly from the 30 to the 35. That has meant kicks have reached the end zone and have been put in the landing zone from the goal line to the 20-yard line.
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