Scheming Up a Score: Bengals Special Teams Coordinator Darrin Simmons Carves Path for Charlie Jones' 100-Yard TD

Jay Morrison | Oct 20, 2024

Oct 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones (15) returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Last week it was a dusting off an old run play that ended up winning the Cincinnati Bengals the game against the New York Giants with a late touchdown.

Today, it was the unveiling of a new kick return that produced an early score and set the tone for a 21-14 road win against the Cleveland Browns.

Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons noticed something while watching film of the Cleveland kick coverage unit that he thought the Bengals could exploit.

The result was Charlie Jones’ 100-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff to give the Bengals a lead 12 seconds into the game.

CHARLIE FREAKIN' JONES WITH THE 100-YD KICK RETURN!!!!

📺: #CINvsCLE on CBS pic.twitter.com/9ObAqsLtQ7

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 20, 2024

“It's a play we haven't run before,” Simmons said on the postgame radio show. “We put it in this week to try to take advantage of what they do. Fortunately, it worked just like we drew it up. We blocked it good, and everything worked out like it's supposed to work out.”

Simmons had been putting Jones and Chase Brown deep on kickoff returns to ensure the opponent can’t kick away from a single, centrally aligned returner.

Last week against the Giants, he had Brown and Jones mill around side by side until right before the kickoff in case New York kicker Greg Joseph was intent on kicking to a specific returner.

Against the Browns, Simmons only sent Jones back deep. At least at first. But tight end Drew Sample, who usually is among the nine players lined up in the set-up zone, slowly started sneaking his way back from the 30-yard line to position himself on the 5-yard line.

Jones fielding the kickoff, headed up straight up the middle before cutting right off Sample’s block and it was a sprint to the end zone after that.

“That's exactly how Darrin drew it up,” Jones said. “A middle return, and if I get through there, take it right. It was exactly how he told me it was gonna be, and everybody did their job. 

“We put drew back there for the first time, and it couldn't have been a better block,” Jones added. “The hole was huge, and I really didn't have to do much. It was awesome, a great call by Darrin.”

The return earned Jones a game ball from head coach Zac Taylor.

It was Cincinnati’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Brandon Wilson returned 103 yards in 2020 against the Giants, and the fifth in Simmons’ tenure as Bengals special teams coordinator, which began in 2003.

Jones, who had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 2 last year against the Ravens, became the second player in Bengals history to return a kickoff and a punt for a score, joining Lemar Parrish (four punt returns, one kickoff return).

It was just the third career kick return for Jones, who had a 31-yarder last week against the Giants.

But he returned 45 kicks in college, including a 100-yard touchdown while playing for Iowa in a game against Illinois and current teammate and fellow kick returner Chase Brown.

“It’s something I did in college,” Jones said. “It's something I like doing, something I'm comfortable with and something I want to continue to do here.

“It's a good feeling to be back in the end zone.”

Making the touchdown even more important was the fact that Jones accounted for the only points the Bengals scored in the first half.

“It kind of set the tempo for the game,” Simmons said. “It was something we talked about, 'We need to start fast and get them down early so that we can control the tempo and control the flow of the game.'

“That was just a huge play to start the game,” he added. “Hats off to our guys that executed the play exactly like it should have been executed.”

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