Bengals WR Charlie Jones today was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the team's 21-14 win at Cleveland in Week 7.
Jones took the opening kickoff of the game from his own goal line and returned it 100 yards for a TD, giving the Bengals a 7-0 lead just 12 seconds into the first quarter. It marked the longest KOR in the NFL this season and was the first return of 100 or more yards in the league's new Dynamic Kickoff.
Jones' return was the 13th TD scored on a KOR in Bengals history and tied for the third-longest. It also was the second time a Bengals player returned the opening kickoff for a TD, following a 92-yarder by former S Brandon Wilson to start Week 6 of the 2019 season.
Combining Jones' return on Sunday with his 81-yard TD on a punt return in Week 2 of last season against Baltimore, he joined former CB Lemar Parrish as the only players in team history to score a TD via punt and kickoff return during their Bengals career.
In the second quarter of Sunday's game at Cleveland, Jones added a season-long 23-yard PR to set up the Cincinnati offense at its own 44-yard line.
This is Jones' first career AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award. Bengals players have combined for 17 weekly honors (Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams) since the start of the 2021 season, the third-most in the NFL in that span.
