Player
Marcus Jones
DB · Patriots
Punt-return touchdowns are among the rarest plays in football — averaging fewer than 10 league-wide per season. Hitting two in one year, as Jones did in 2025, puts him in a category with only a handful of specialists since the modern era began.
3 career punt-return TDs — tied for 4th-most by any returner since 2017.
RareCareer punt-return TD leaders, 2017–2025 (reg season)
| Player | PR TDs |
|---|---|
| Rashid Shaheed | 4 |
| Jamal Agnew | 4 |
| Jakeem Grant | 3 |
| Kalif Raymond | 3 |
| Gunner Olszewski | 3 |
| Marcus Jones | 3 |
| Parker Washington | 3 |
Jones has hit paydirt on 3 punt returns: an 84-yarder vs the Jets in 2022 (Week 11), an 87-yarder vs the Panthers in 2025 (Week 4), and a 94-yarder vs the Giants in 2025 (Week 13). All three were fielded inside the NE 20.
In a league where most teams haven't returned a punt for a TD in years, two punt-return TDs in a single season (2025) is rare air — only Rashid Shaheed has done it twice in that span.
Why it matters. Punt-return touchdowns are among the rarest plays in football — averaging fewer than 10 league-wide per season. Hitting two in one year, as Jones did in 2025, puts him in a category with only a handful of specialists since the modern era began.
Rookie returner → lost season in 2023 (2 games) → defensive starter & double-digit PD man by 2025.
TrendMarcus Jones career — defensive + return (reg season)
| Season | Games | Tackles | PD | INT | PR TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 14 | 54 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 17 | 62 | 15 | 4 | 2 |
2023 was a lost season — Jones played just 2 games (shoulder injury) and the Pats' return game disappeared with him. 2024 brought him back as a full-time defender and returner. His 2025 regular-season leap is the headline: 62 combined tackles, 15 PD, 4 INT, 2 PR-TDs in 17 games. Add four more playoff games where he snagged a pick-six off C.J. Stroud in the Divisional round.
The trajectory — from return specialist to full defensive starter — is exactly the development arc New England's regime call on when they drafted him in the third round.
Pass deflections by season (reg season)
| Season | PD |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 10 |
| 2025 | 15 |
Why it matters. Jones's 2025 breakout is rare because the jump came in Year 4, after a serious injury wiped out Year 2. Most players who miss a season early in their career never recapture their pre-injury ceiling; Jones exceeded it.
3 of his 7 career INTs went back for TDs — one of the highest pick-six rates among active DBs.
AnomalyMarcus Jones career interceptions
| Season | Wk | Passer | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14 | Colt McCoy | No |
| 2022 | 16 | Joe Burrow | Yes |
| 2024 | 6 | C.J. Stroud | No |
| 2025 | 5 | Josh Allen | No |
| 2025 | 7 | Cam Ward | No |
| 2025 | 12 | Joe Flacco | Yes |
| 2025 | 20 | C.J. Stroud | Yes |
Of his 7 career interceptions, 3 went the distance (43%). Among DBs with at least 7 INTs since 2022, only Jack Jones (50%) has a higher pick-six rate.
The three pick-six victims span the talent spectrum: Burrow in his prime (2022), Flacco filling in (2025 W12), and Stroud in a Divisional-round playoff game (2025 W20). The playoff one flipped the game — NE won 28-16 and advanced to the AFC Championship.
Why it matters. A 43% pick-six rate means nearly every other interception Jones gets turns into six points. That's a legitimate threat that changes how offenses plan protection on his side of the field.
His 2025 regular season nearly matched his entire 2022–24 output across every counting stat.
Split2022–24 combined vs 2025 regular season
| Stat | 2022–24 | 2025 (reg) |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 30 | 17 |
| Combined tackles | 92 | 62 |
| Pass deflections | 17 | 15 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 4 |
| Fumble recoveries | 4 | 3 |
| Punt-return TDs | 1 | 2 |
In 17 regular-season games, Jones posted 4 INTs and 2 PR-TDs — both figures already exceeding anything he did across 30 games from 2022–24. Pass deflections (15) nearly matched the three-year total (17).
The tackles and fumble recoveries still trail on raw volume — he had 30 more games to accumulate them. But the explosive-play rate in 2025 (INT + PR-TD per game) doubled his career baseline.
Why it matters. The story isn't just that Jones had a great 2025 — it's that the rate of explosive defensive plays (INTs, PR-TDs) doubled. That's the signature of a player who made a genuine schematic and technique leap, not just a volume increase.
Only player since 2017 to score a punt-return TD AND a pick-six in the same season — twice.
RarePlayers with PR-TD + pick-six in same season (2017–2025)
| Player | Season | PR TDs | Pick-6s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond King | 2018 | 1 | 1 |
| Marcus Jones | 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| Marcus Jones | 2025 | 2 | 2 |
Scoring on a punt return AND returning an interception for a touchdown in the same season requires a player to dominate on both special teams and defense. Since 2017, it has happened just 3 times by 2 players — and Marcus Jones is the only one to do it twice.
In 2025 he doubled the single-season feat: 2 PR-TDs + 2 pick-sixes in the same year, including a Divisional-round pick-six off C.J. Stroud that helped the Patriots advance to the AFC Championship game.
Why it matters. Being a dual return-scoring threat on both special teams and defense in the same season is vanishingly rare. Jones doing it twice in four years is a fact that separates him from almost every DB in the modern era.
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