Patriots' Mack Wilson laughs off anger over no-call: "Felt I had a great shot on him"
FOXBORO -- Rookie Marcus Jones provided the most exciting play of the Patriots season on Sunday, lifting the team to a 10-3 win over the New York Jets with an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown with just five seconds on the clock.
But even before the clock hit zero and the Patriots walked off the field with their 14th straight win over their AFC East rival, Jets fans were crying foul. As replays of the electric play were shown over and over again, many fans were up in arms over a potential block in the back by Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson on the final yards of Jones' return.
As Jones put on the jets (no pun intended) and raced for the end zone, Wilson leveled New York's Justin Hardee at the Jets' 15-yard line, which assured that Jones would find pay dirt on the play.
That block did look dangerously close to being a block in the back, which would have cost the Patriots the winning touchdown. (Though it would have set up a game-winning field goal attempt by Nick Folk, and seeing how it was the Jets on the other side, the veteran would have nailed it after missing two kicks earlier in the game.) However, the NFL later determined that the block came from the side and was, therefore, legal.
Patriots win. Jets lose. All is right in the world.
Now Wilson is enjoying a chuckle over his newfound villainy among fans of Gang Green. He couldn't help but laugh when WBZ-TV's Dan Roche told him on Tuesday that he's now an enemy to Jets fans.
"I'm sure nobody else agrees, but I felt that I had a great shot on him," Wilson said of the play in an interview for Wednesday night's Patriots 1st Down. "That was the reason I hit him like I did, otherwise I wouldn't have hit him as hard or maybe I wouldn't have touched him. I honestly didn't know how far Marcus was away from the guy. In my mind as I'm running, I was thinking 'lemme get this block before he tackles him, so we can score.' I'm glad it was a no-call."
As is the rest of New England. Wilson praised the Patriots' special teams unit for the game-winning play, saying everyone did exactly what they had to do to give Jones a chance to make something special happen.
"Everybody did their job. Everybody seemed to have a hat on a hat. I think we left one guy unblocked, and Marcus just had to find a way to beat him," he said. "Everybody did their job and we were able to score. Just to hear the stadium so loud, it was insane. I almost got super emotional, knowing that this play was the reason we were about to win. It was a great feeling."
Wilson sees big things ahead for Jones, a fellow Alabama native. He's known Jones since the rookie was in high school, and is happy to see the success that he's enjoying early in his career.
"He is a great kid," Wilson said of Jones. "He's been carrying himself well like a profession, which you don't see much with rookies. He's on track. He's going to be great."
WBZ-TV has everything to get you ready for Thursday night's Patriots-Vikings clash! Coverage begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. with Patriots All Access, and continues at 9:30 p.m. on TV38 with Patriots 1st Down. We set the table Thursday night with Patriots GameDay at 5:30 p.m., and after the game switch back to WBZ-TV for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
