Miami Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones (23) celebrates after making an interception during overtime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

MADRID (AP) — Last week, it was a key forced fumble. This time, it was a decisive overtime interception.

Not bad for someone who didn't know if he would make the Miami Dolphins' roster in the offseason.

Cornerback Jack Jones came through for the Dolphins (4-7) on Sunday with his overtime pick helping lead to a 16-13 victory over the Washington Commanders in the first NFL regular-season game in Spain.

His forced fumble last week helped the Dolphins beat Buffalo 30-13 at home. He also had six total tackles against the Bills.

“Man, I’m truly blessed to be here,” he said. “The type of offseason I was going through just this past offseason, you know, I didn’t know if I was going to be on the team or not. Just being here, if there’s plays made or no plays made, I’m blessed and happy.”

After the interception, Jones imitated the signature celebration of Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer great who used to play for Real Madrid at the same Santiago Bernabeu Stadium where Sunday's game was played in the Spanish capital.

“There’s all sorts of stories like that littered among an NFL team,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “That one’s pretty special because he’s had some adversity and had an opportunity here. We talked about it right when he came in. He came, hugged me and thanked me, and I thanked him because you can’t change the past, but you can recognize an opportunity, one that it was his to take on, but the recourse of failure was probably the end of his career, and he knew that.”

The 27-year-old Jones signed with the Dolphins in the summer after being with the Las Vegas Raiders. He previously played with New England.

While with the Patriots in 2023, he agreed to serve one year of probation and 48 hours of community service in exchange for prosecutors dropping eight of the nine weapons charges he faced in connection with his June arrest at a security checkpoint at Boston’s Logan Airport for allegedly having two loaded guns in his carry-on bag.

“He had a forced fumble last week that was monumental in our win and got his hands on the football again, this time with an interception,” McDaniel said. “So, he’s really doing a great job taking advantage of the opportunity. I think he really appreciated the team chanting a Jack Jones song considering it was fresh on his mind how far he’d come. We all can appreciate that.”

Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first offensive play of overtime Sunday, leading to Riley Patterson's 29-yard winning field goal.

“This was a good team win,” he said. “Nobody was hanging their heads off of bad plays or bad drives, so to speak. Everybody just came back, regrouped and went out there and just was dominating as a team. If we just carry that week in and week out, we’re really hard to beat, because we’re a good team.”

Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said Jones told him moments earlier that he was going to come up with the interception.

“His exact words," Brooks said, "'Y’all stop the run. He’s going to throw me the ball, because he can’t throw.'”

“I had good eyes,” Jones said. “I’m an aggressive corner. You know, my eyes could be my weak spot. I seen the tight end chip, had good eyes, and tried to go across the formation. I just want the steal.”

Jones said turning down a notch on his aggression has helped him become more productive.

“This year, I feel like I’ve been trying to tone down my aggression,” he said. “Just play to the system and do my job, and don’t try to do nothing more, because plays (are) going to come to me. Just make the plays that come to me and don’t try to overreach.”

Jones thanked McDaniel and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for giving him the opportunity.

“I'm happy about everything,” the 27-year-old Jones said.

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