Getty Marvin Jones reacts after scoring a touchdown vs. the Vikings.
The Detroit Lions have wasted little time getting off to a huge start against the Green Bay Packers and they have a key wideout getting into the mix.
After another clinical drive, the Lions managed to punch the ball in the end zone again. This time, it was Marvin Jones picking up a pass near the goal line and getting into the end zone for the first time in 2020 and a 14-3 lead over the Packers.
Here’s a look:
9⃣ to 1⃣1⃣ for the score❗️
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Jones getting into the end zone for the first time is a good omen for the Lions considering they often depended on him to make their offense go last season. Getting him into the mix is excellent for the depth of the team and their offense.
Marvin Jones Gets Angry Run of Week 1
During Detroit’s 27-23 loss to the Bears last week, Jones didn’t have the biggest impact as a whole statistically with only 55 yards on the day and no scores. The one play he made, though, was felt on highlight reels long after the game was done. On a pass, Jones took off and promptly laid out Johnson with a massive hit, then continued down the field.
The play was so good, it was Good Morning Football’s “Angry Run” of the week, and host Kyle Brandt could barely contain his excitement about the play.
ANGRY RUNS IS BACK.
@KyleBrandt brings us through the hardest hits from Week 1!
Who gets the ANGRY SCEPTER for Week 1?!
Brandt was enthusiastic in his commentary:
“Are you kidding me Marvin Jones? Oh my gosh, as we know, Marvin Jones’ side business off the field, he’s in the cake business. This was bundt force trauma on the rookie Jaylen Johnson. Marvin Jones, we’ve been watching you for years dude. Great receiver, great hands, cool guy. I didn’t know you had that in you!”
Jones was given the title of the Angry Scepter winner for the first week, meaning he gets a t-shirt and the honor of being the angriest runner from Week 1 of the 2020 season.
The contact was indeed very angry, and Jones and the Lions are likely still smarting too after the close loss. We’ll see if Jones can keep handing out the punishment in the weeks ahead.
Marvin Jones Called Top NFL Wideout
Recently, Nick Shook took a closer look at NFL.com with the help of some advanced stats from Next Gen Stats in order to determine the top wide receivers in football. Detroit’s Marvin Jones placed within the top 5, claiming the No. 4 spot on Shook’s list. That placed him ahead of names like Calvin Ridley and Amari Cooper.
As it relates to why, Shook admitted in the writeup that it has everything to do with not only his skill, but his ability to grow within an offense that’s set to take off this season.
“Jones, who missed three games himself in 2019, has an interesting week-by-week stat line, with the most peculiar game coming in Week 12 against Washington, with Jeff Driskel under center. Jones was targeted 11 times and caught just five of those passes; those numbers indicate either a receiver having a bad outing or a quarterback giving a receiver few chances to make a play. Jones’ expected catch rate that date was 44.1 percent and he caught 45.5 percent of his targets, meaning he performed slightly better than expectation. He was afforded just 1.3 yards of separation on average when targeted in that game and battled through a tight window on 54.5 percent of targets. This isn’t the receiver’s fault.
Jones overcame plenty — including the second-highest tight-window percentage (29.7) of any of these pass-catchers — to post our fourth and final double-digit positive catch-rate difference of 2019 (among receivers). His yardage total doesn’t say it, but he made plenty of plays amid disadvantageous circumstances.”
Jones had multiple big games this season including a day in October where he exploded for 4 touchdowns in a game against Minnesota. Though his season was cut short by injury, Jones put up numbers and managed to dominate no matter who was the quarterback. That’s significant and leads to the thought that Jones might be heading for a career year in 2020 with a healthy quarterback.
So far, so good after a score.
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