In less than a week’s time, the San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in what is expected to be a stellar Super Bowl finale. While the NFL world is running wild with Super Bowl fever; the NFL Network erroneously called Jacksonville Jaguars’ legendary former RB Maurice Jones-Drew a Super Bowl champion. While MJD never won a ring, he was one of the most underrated NFL superstars of the last two decades.
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The diminutive RB played 9 seasons in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Raiders scoring a whopping 81 touchdowns in his career. The Jaguars’ legendary RB had 1,847 carries for 8,167 yards, and 346 catches for 2,944 yards along with an impressive touchdown record.
Even with such stellar personal accolades, Maurice couldn’t win a Super Bowl ring or even championships. Sadly for him, his personal high coincided with the Jaguars’ most lackluster NFL era. Maurice played for Jacksonville from 2006 to 2011 and in that period, the Jaguars averaged a mediocre seven wins over those six years.
Despite the Super Bowl ring eluding him, his career was truly remarkable with towering highs and lows that brought the best out of Jones shaping him for his current NFL analyst stint.
A Look at Maurice Jones-Drew’s NFL Career
From 2006-2011, Jones-Drew’s stint for the Jacksonville Jaguars was pitch-perfect. In this period, the RB became a three-time Pro Bowl, Second-Team All-Pro, and two-time First-Team All-Pro selection. His finest pro season came during this period in 2011 when he led the league with 1,606 rushing yards.
Unfortunately, his life took a sudden downward spiral in the next two seasons as he registered his worst performances with a combined 1,217 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 2012 and 2013. Post the 2013 season, Jones-Drew’s troubles went from bad to worse. At the end of the season, he was released by the Jaguars and was alleged to have punched a bodyguard in his face.
It was also during this period that he returned to UCLA to complete his bachelor’s degree. While many expected his career to be over, his hometown club Oakland Raiders gave him a lifeline as they snapped the free agent for three years. Unfortunately for both the parties, they ended up registering their worst season ever.
While the Raiders only won 3 matches in the 2014 season, MJD had just 96 rushing yards on 43 carries in twelve games for the Raiders. It was also the only season where he didn’t register a single Touchdown.
After a shambolic season, Maurice decided to call it a day and retire for good. He soon signed a one-day contract with the Jaguars for whom he has the most –
1) Touchdowns (81)
2) Rushing touchdowns in a season (15)
3) Rushing yards in a season (1,608)
4) Longest kickoff return (100 yards)
Soon after, he slowly transitioned into an analyst career thanks to being an early entrant in the social media realm. And this is why he is one of the most trusted and well-known analysts on the NFL roster today!
