Reshad Jones shows ‘rust,’ struggles in return to lineup after two-week layoff

On paper, Reshad Jones had a fine return to the lineup Sunday.

He led the Dolphins with nine tackles. He had a big third-down pass breakup that might have kept points off the board.

But anyone who watched the game realized that Jones did not play up to his standard.

He was the closest defender in coverage on both of Philip Rivers’ touchdown passes, making a poor decision on the first and a halfhearted tackling effort on the second.

But after the game, Jones did not use his injured ankle as an excuse.

“I wouldn’t say [I was] 100 [percent], but I was definitely to play,” Jones said. “I had a little rust, but it’ll get better as time goes.”

On Rivers’ first touchdown pass, Jones drew running back Troymaine Pope in coverage, but left his man when Rivers started scrambling.

That left Pope wide open and allowed him to score on a 13-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

“I thought he was out of the pocket,” Jones said. “Rivers, he had been running the ball a little bit more lately so I thought he was about to run it in. I thought he had passed the line of scrimmage. I tried to make a play.”

It wasn’t the right decision, but it was a forgivable mistake.

But there was no excusing his lackluster tackling attempt on Austin Ekeler late in the first half. Ekeler caught the ball on the left sideline, shed a tackle and went 18 yards to the end zone.

“There’s some frustration, but as coach [Brian Flores] said, we’re one or two plays away,” Jones said. “One block away, one tackle away. We’ve just got to make those plays.”

Jones, who is the team’s highest paid player, started at strong safety Sunday alongside Steven Parker, who was in the lineup because Bobby McCain (hamstring/shoulder) was out.

This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 5:15 PM.