By all accounts and measures, former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones had one whale of a debut with the XFL. His D.C. Defenders squad won the first game in its history 31-19 over Seattle Saturday. And Jones had a lot to do with it.
He completed 16 of 26 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns, and gained a few more on the ground because of the whole better runner than thrower thing, right?
Jones was a happy man after the game and took some time to reflect upon what he hopes is the start of something special.
“It feels good to be out there for a full game, grinding out there with these guys that we put a lot of work in since November,” said Jones.
When asked what he learned about his team, Jones said he knew one thing about his teammates.
“We knew we had a tough, hard-nosed team,” Jones said. “The unknown was what these guys will come out and prepare for, so it was hard for us to prepare.”
You can catch his exchange and brief interview after the game by clicking on the below video shared by the official Twitter feed of the D.C. Defenders.
After tossing two touchdowns vs. Seattle, @CJ1two spoke with @diannaESPN after our Week 1 W.#ForgedByDC | #ForTheLoveOfFootball pic.twitter.com/VzPpernJ6n
— DC Defenders (@XFLDefenders) February 8, 2020
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There you have it. Jones looked more like the quarterback that unexpectedly and somewhat miraculously led Ohio State to a national championship in 2014, instead of the one that struggled to find his place in the NFL.
Hopefully, there’s more coming too. The D.C. Defenders are back in action next Saturday at 2 PM Eastern against the New York Guardians.