Jacoby Jones, the former Baltimore wide receiver who caught the game-tying touchdown pass on a bomb from Joe Flacco, famously known as ‘The Mile High Miracle,’ to spark the Ravens to a double-overtime win at Denver in the AFC semifinals on their 2012 Super Bowl run, has passed away at the age of 40.
The details on how Jones died were not immediately available.
Jones scored three TDs during Baltimore’s postseason run that ended with a 34-31 win over San Francisco at Super Bowl XLVII in his hometown of New Orleans.
With the Ravens leading the 49ers 14-3 with 1:45 left in the second quarter, Flacco hit Jones for a 56-yard TD pass. San Francisco was able to counter with a 27-yard field goal from David Akers on the final play of the first half to cut the deficit to 21-6.
However, Jones promptly extended the Ravens’ lead to 28-6 with a 108-yard kickoff return for a TD, a Super Bowl record for the longest scoring play that still stands today, to start the second half. San Francisco would rally to cut Baltimore’s lead to 31-29 with 9:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, but John Harbaugh’s squad held on to secure the victory.
Jones became the first player in Super Bowl history to score on a return TD and a receiving TD. In addition, his 288 all-purpose yards remains the most in Super Bowl history.
The Ravens nearly missed out on the trip to the Crescent City. Trailing 35-28 at Denver, they were facing a third-and-three play at their own 30 with less than a minute remaining. That’s when Flacco dropped back and launched the best deep ball of his career.
The Broncos’ secondary inexplicably allowed the speedy Jones to get behind them and he beautifully ran under the high-arching throw that him perfectly in stride. It remains one of the most thrilling plays at crunch time in NFL history.
With 1:01 remaining in OT, the Broncos were facing a second-and-six situation from their 38 when Peyton Manning was intercepted by Corey Graham, who also had a 39-yard pick-six off of Manning in the first quarter.
Graham’s second interception gave Harbaugh’s team the ball at Denver’s 45. An 11-yard run by Ray Rice on second and 10 put the Ravens in FG range at the 34. Rice would run three more times for five yards.
Then with 13:24 remaining in double OT, Justin Tucker buried a 47-yard FG to give Baltimore the victory.
“Jacoby had the unique ability to connect with everyone he encountered. His charisma, joy and love created a one-of-a-kind presence that could light up any room or brighten any dark day,” the Ravens said in a statement release earlier today.
“I loved Jacoby Jones. We all did,” Harbaugh said Sunday in a statement. “His spirit, enthusiasm and love for people were powerful. He was a light. My favorite Jacoby personal moment was every time I saw his smiling face full of joy.”
Jones was hired earlier this year as the head coach and offensive coordinator for the Beaumont Renegades, an indoor football expansion team that will start playing in 2025.
Jones played in 128 regular-season games for Houston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and San Diego. He hauled in 203 career receptions for 2,733 yards and 14 TDs. Jones also had four career punt returns for TDs and five kickoff returns for TDs.
In eight career postseason contests, Jones had six catches for 150 yards and two TDs.