TORONTO — Thomas Jones has exceeded 1,000 rushing yards for five straight seasons, which puts him in the company of only two active backs (LaDainian Tomlinson, Stephen Jackson) and in the even more elite company of the people whom the Jets’ No. 20 says made this possible.
“It’s a blessing,” said Jones after running for 109 yards last night, the last 29 of which, from the Jets’ 42-yard line, enabled them to run out the clock in their 19-13 victory over the Bills.
“I’m blessed, blessed enough to be durable and healthy and play a lot of games over the course of these last five seasons and have had great offensive lines, especially the last two years,” Jones said. “We also have the best fullback [Tony Richardson] in the league in addition to the best offensive line. I give them a lot of credit.”
But is he surprised?
“Not really, I prepare and I work every day, don’t really take any days off,” Jones said. “When I come out there on Sunday I expect to play well, but these guys make it that much easier.”
The Jets ran all over the Bills in their game at the Meadowlands, managed because of five Mark Sanchez interceptions to lose in overtime. This time their two quarterbacks threw none and Jones, Shone Green (11 carries for 59 yards) and Tony Richardson (two carries for 36) keyed a 249-yard ground attack.
“We knew they were going to try to stop the run,” said Jones. “Obviously we didn’t have the whole week to prepare and they pressured us a lot to try to get out of our rhythm but they were overspursing so there were cutbacks there and our offensive line did a great job.”