The New England Patriots shut the door on the Miami Dolphins when Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a third interception of the afternoon. Cornerback J.C. Jackson made a heady play with an end-zone interception to finish off Miami with just 88 seconds left in the game.
A touchdown would’ve challenged New England’s 21-11 lead and kept the Dolphins within striking distance. The interception completely killed Miami’s chances. That’s why Bill Belichick, unprompted, sung Jackson’s praises in a big way on Sunday.
“I would just say that I really take my hat off to J.C. [Jackson],” Belichick said after the game. “I thought J.C. really competed well today. He showed a lot of mental toughness and a real competitiveness of the game, and then for him to make that play at the end just sealed the win, along with the run that we had there to get the first down to run out the clock. But the interception that J.C. had in the end zone, I thought he showed a lot of mental toughness and a high level of competitiveness in today’s game. So, I just wanted to personally congratulate him for that, because that was good.”
J.C. Jackson gets the third New England pick of the day 😬
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/w8Jy3AMQg2
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) September 13, 2020
Fitzpatrick intended to throw to tight end Mike Gesicki, who was draped in coverage from cornerback Joejuan Williams. But Jackson faded away from Preston Williams after Fitzapatrick released the ball, and the cornerback was in a better place to catch than ball than the intended target.
It was yet another example of Jackson’s prowess and ball skills. He played 67.5% of defensive snaps in 2019, and managed five interceptions. It seems Jackson could eclipse that number in his third season.
