J.C. Jackson Awarded Game Ball After Patriots' Week 1 Win Over Dolphins
BOSTON (CBS) -- The new-look Patriots are 1-0 after a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, with J.C. Jackson sealing the 21-11 victory with an end-zone pick in the game's final minutes. For that effort, the young cornerback received the game ball from head coach Bill Belichick.
As they do after every win, the Patriots shared a video of the locker room celebration. It included some praise from Belichick, who was pleased with the contributions by every facet of the roster.
"That was a good team win. You guys got good contributions from all three phases; everybody contributed there and did a lot of things well," said Belichick. "There is certainly a lot of room for improvement and we'll work on that. You guys handled and kept your poise well when the game was getting out of hand or could have. You did a good job handling it and taking care of it on the scoreboard."
Belichick was quick to praise Jackson during his postgame press conference on Sunday.
"I would just say that I really take my hat off to J.C. [Jackson]. I thought J.C. really competed well today," said Belichick. "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."
The 24-year-old Jackson continues to elevate his play and looks poised to have a breakout season as New Engalnd's No. 2 corner. He came into the season with eight career interceptions over his first two NFL seasons, and is already off to a great start to 2020. Jackson defended two other passes in addition to his pick against the Dolphins on Sunday.
Of course, no Patriots celebration isn't complete without some words of wisdom from team captain Matthew Slater.
"The road to get to this point wasn't easy, at all. But I guarantee you one thing, at some point we're going to have to continue to overcome adversity. That's going to be the name of the season," said Slater. "That's the kind of year it's been."
The road is going to get tougher for the Patriots, but for now, they're feeling great about being 1-0 on the season.
