Taiwan Jones, who caught pass after Deshaun Watson’s miracle escape, is a former Bill

Incredibly, the Texans’ Taiwan Jones, who caught the pass after Deshaun Watson’s escape, is a former Buffalo Bill.

Deshaun Watson’s escape against the Buffalo Bills in overtime was miraculous. Almost as incredible is the person who caught the pass, Taiwan Jones, the running back you haven’t heard of that has been in the NFL since 2011.

Who on earth is Taiwan Jones, you ask?

  • Jones signed with Eastern Washington in 2007 as a cornerback and was redshirted. Jones started four games at cornerback in 2008 after missing much of the first part of the season with a broken fibula suffered in the first week of preseason practices.
  • Jones, who rushed for 1,742 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2010, despite missing three games due to injury, was the rare Football Championship Subdivision talent to forgo his senior year for the NFL, per Spokesman.com.
  • He was clocked in the 40-yard dash by NFL scouts with times ranging from 4.25 to 4.35 seconds during his 2011 pro day and eventually drafted in the fourth round by the Oakland Raiders.

Jones played six years for the Raiders before signing with — wait for it — the Buffalo Bills in 2017. He was named a special-teams captain in 2018. He can be found on Youtube for taking a brutal hit after losing his helmet against the Chargers in 2018,

Of course, to make the story come full circle, Jones signed with the Houston Texans before the 2019 season.

There could not have been a less likely target for Watson, leading to one of the most unlikely heroes in NFL playoff history on the receiving end of the 34-yard reception and run.

Jones had one catch in the regular season for a grand total of  nine yards. He has three catches over the last three seasons for 20 yards, targeted a total of five times. The most receptions Jones had in a season came in 2015 with Oakland when he caught seven passes for 106 yards and his lone NFL TD catch. The 31-year-old has 19 catches in his NFL career. Primarily a special-teams player, Jones was on the field for 14 offensive snaps in the regular season.

The 6-0, 195-pounder thought he was going to end the overtime contest.

“I thought I was going to score,” said Jones, who went for his number, 34 yards on the play. “But I was definitely excited and, like I said, it was more of a great play by Deshaun. I don’t know how he got free, but he did and he made a play.”

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports