Jacoby Jones – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com The Best of Baltimore Since 1907 Thu, 06 Aug 2020 00:55:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Jacoby Jones – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com 32 32 Jacoby Jones Retires a Raven…Not a Steeler https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/friday-replay-jacoby-jones-retires-with-ravens-not-steelers/ Fri, 29 Sep 2017 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=28612

Jacoby Jones retires a Raven.
One of the heroes of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII run will announce his retirement today at the team’s facility in Owings Mills. Time to cue up the video of that 109-yard kickoff return . . . (or him catching the Miracle at Mile High, or dodging Mike Tomlin on Thanksgiving and saying afterward—while eating a turkey leg in the locker room—that he should have ran into the Steelers’ coach.) I think we can all agree on that.


A controversy wrapped in the flag.
One day, most likely a long time from now, if at all, maybe everyone will step back, take a deep breath, and think. About what this last week—which began Sunday morning with images from London of a dozen Ravens players (and Ray Lewis) kneeling during the national anthem in protest of our president, and continued the last few days with heated debate about it – has really meant.

But, for now, we’re still in it. 

What exactly will happen this Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium? We know that at least a few new voices, a trio from the U.S. Air Force, will bellow, “O, say…” before kickoff. Reservoir Hill native Joey Odoms, the team’s anthem singer since 2014 and a former national guardsman, resigned from his post amid the ongoing controversy, saying he doesn’t feel welcome anymore, citing the negative reactions of some fans to the nationwide signs of unity among NFL players.

Emotions have been stirred in all corners, including from 65,000-plus who’ve signed a petition to take down Lewis’ statue at the stadium, though he said this week he wasn’t necessarily protesting, but praying. In any case, intent has been blurred, jerseys burned, listening seemingly stopped, and we’ve been forced to consider our opinions on the whole issue, even if we’d normally prefer to watch a pro football game to escape our problems and, of course, primarily to see the Ravens beat the Steelers again.

A post shared by Joey Odoms (@joeyodoms) on


There’s always next year?
Well, after flirting with a playoff run until the last few weeks, the Orioles’ 64th season will end unceremoniously in Tampa Bay on Sunday, when they play their last game of the regular season. It’s not the type of year the O’s, or we, hoped for; they’ll finish with a losing record for the first time since 2011, Buck Showalter’s first full year as manager.

But the season did have its moments, like on a hot afternoon Sunday, in the Camden Yards finale, when too-often-injured fan favorite J…J…Hardy smacked a two-run homer in the fourth inning, after receiving a standing ovation in the first in what might be his last game wearing an O’s uniform here. That’s a nice way to go out!


Friday night lghts.

St. Frances Academy, the private school located on East Chase Street just off the Jones Falls Expressway, has a long history, as in more than 185 years’ worth as the first and oldest predominantly African-American Catholic school in the country. Its 2017 football team is now part of its story, too.

With a 28-7 win over Calvert Hall last Friday night, the Panthers, who finished 0-6 in the MIAA two years ago, improved to 4-0 overall and rose to No. 22 in the USA Today National Top 25, while remaining tied with DeMatha for the top spot in the state poll. We’ll have to see how the team fares against Loyola Blakefield this afternoon at 4 p.m.

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]]> Ravens Top 20: Mile High Miracle https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-top-20-mile-high-miracle/ Wed, 09 Dec 2015 08:30:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=69756 Continued]]> #5: Mile High Miracle
January 12, 2013

How it happened: The ball seemed to hang in the thin, frigid Colorado air forever. With 38 seconds left in an AFC Divisional Playoff game that had a little bit of everything, Joe Flacco launched a bomb in the direction of wide receiver Jacoby Jones—and the football world held its collective breath.

Heading into the game, few gave the Ravens a shot to win against the Peyton Manning-led Broncos, who were 9-1/2 point favorites. Denver was on an 11-game winning streak, which included an easy win in Baltimore. But this game was a shootout from the start. Unfortunately for the Ravens, the Broncos held a seven-point lead with the clock ticking down and the Ravens 70 yards from the end zone.

The situation looked bleak. The New York Times would later report that, at one point in the final two minutes, according to the AdvancedNFLstats.com probability graph for the game, Baltimore had only a one percent chance of winning the game. With no timeouts remaining and so many yards to cover, there was no way the Broncos would allow a Ravens receiver to slip behind its defense, right? 

But that’s exactly what Jones did when he raced past safety Rahim Moore. Flacco took the shotgun snap, stepped up in the pocket and used every ounce of his superhuman arm strength to get the ball to Jones, who caught it over the stumbling Moore and raced into the end zone to improbably tie the game.     

“I give all praise to Joe for making that play,” Jones said. “I just ran and was at the right place at the right time and it fell right in my hands.”

Moore was more succinct in his analysis of the play: “It was my fault. It was pathetic.”

The game, however, was not over. It remained tied until the second overtime, when Justin Tucker booted a 47-year field goal to give Baltimore a 38-35 win that is forever implanted in NFL playoff lore and known simply as the Mile High Miracle.

All season long, we’ll be counting down the Ravens top moments in franchise history to celebrate the team’s 20th season in Baltimore. Take a look back at what moments we’ve chronicled so far.

#20: Naming the Team

#19: Testaverde Throws for 429 Yards

#18: First Ring of Honor

#17: Terrell Suggs Becomes Thigh Master

#16: The Insane Final Minutes of the Vikings Snow Game

#15: Torrey Smith’s Emotional Win Over Patriots

#14: Peter Boulware Gets Four Sacks in a Single Game

#13: Justin Tucker Nails a 61-Yard Field Goal to Beat Detroit

#12: Flacco Connects With Ray Rice on Fourth and 29

#11: Ray Lewis Strips Eddie George in 2000 Playoffs

#10: Ed Reed’s 106-yard Interception Return Against the Browns

#9: Jamal Lewis Rushes For 295 Yards Against the Browns

#8: First Game in (New) Franchise History

#7: Ray Lewis’s Last Dance

#6: Ravens Beat Steelers in Playoffs For First Time in Franchise History

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]]> Ravens Cut Jacoby Jones https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/sports/ravens-cut-jacoby-jones/ Wed, 25 Feb 2015 15:18:53 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=66589 Continued]]> The Ravens terminated Jacoby Jones’ contract this afternoon, after he spent three years in Baltimore.

This past year Jones was primarily used as a returner, dropping five passes and muffing two punts, catching just nine passes for 131 yards.

However, Jones was one of two players to rank in the top 10 last season in both kickoff and punt returns. Plus, he was largely responsible for our epic post-season run in 2013.

“We don’t win Super Bowl XLVII without Jacoby,” general manager Ozzie Newsome told BaltimoreRavens.com. “You immediately think of the touchdown against Denver in the Divisional round and then the big plays in that Super Bowl—the long touchdown from Joe [Flacco] and the kickoff to open the second half. He also had a big punt return in that game. Jacoby was an outstanding Raven, good teammate—on and off the field.”

According to the Ravens, cutting Jones frees up $750,000 in salary cap space, giving the team some flexibility heading into free agency.

During his three years here, Jones became a particular fan favorite, appearing on Dancing With the Stars, performing many a memorable touchdown dance, and recently fulfilling the dreams of a young cancer patient.

“Jacoby is one of my most favorite players ever to coach, an absolute joy to be around,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “He’s a good person with a good heart.”

For his part, Jacoby simply tweeted:

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