While Jonathan Jones was played his first eight seasons in the NFL with New England, the Patriots went to the Super Bowl three times. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders didn’t have a winning campaign.
The former Auburn cornerback couldn’t have envisioned that coming Washington via NFL free agency would move him closer to returning to the Super Bowl.
But the Commanders posted a 12-5 record in 2024, when Washington reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. In contrast, New England had its second straight 4-13 showing in 2024.
“I didn’t think that would even be a part of the plan,” Jones said during his introductory press conference after signing with the Commanders. “Just seeing kind of the turmoil that had been going on here and just everything that this organization had to deal with, and just seeing how quickly it turned around, I think was one of the biggest surprises to me of just how quickly they were able to get in good people, good staff, everyone here from the scouts, everyone had to play a part in turning this place around and have done a good job of it. …
“I think from the leadership, from top down, ownership has done a good job of implementing good coaches, the GM to bring players in. We have a lot of good veterans who played a lot of good ball. They got a lot of young players who were stepping up and making a lot of plays. And so just the atmosphere, everything this team has been able to build, I think there’s winning here. Last year, you could see it. There’s potential to be great. And so it just comes down to getting out there on the practice field, continuing to get better, pushing each other, so that every week we’re prepared to win.”
In Jones’ first four NFL seasons, the Patriots played in the Super Bowl three times and went to the postseason annually. Since then, New England has one playoff appearance.
“You learn that the margin for error in this league is small,” Jones said. “The difference between any of those teams -- the Super Bowl teams or the terrible teams, all had talented players. They all had guys that could play in this league. But you realize how important the bond is, the trust. You know, it takes a lot of trust to go out and win championships, with every guy being able to know that your teammates are going to show up every day, do their responsibility, do their job. It’s a big thing. It goes a long way. It’s just having the trust of each other, having the trust of the coaches. Everybody being on the same page as an organization is what it needs to win.”
The quarterback also makes a difference. Tom Brady worked as New England’s quarterback in Jones’ first four seasons in the NFL. The decision to pick LSU QB Jayden Daniels at No. 2 in the 2024 NFL Draft was the ignition point of Washington’s turnaround.
“It brings a lot of confidence,” Jones said about winning play at quarterback. “It brings a confidence to a team, to a defense. Your goals kind of shift. Sometimes on defense, you’ll feel like you’re trying to win the game, that it has to be on you. And you’ll shift to a point.
“There’s certain teams around this league. We were that in New England for a while, Kansas City, whereas the defense, your job is like: Let me just get the ball back to our offense, to the quarterback. And then if they have the ball on the last drive, we know we’ll win that game. And so it gives a lot of confidence to a defense when you have a player like that.”
