Every touchdown that former Cowboys running back Felix Jones scored in his NFL career, sorted chronologically
Felix Jones is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at the University of Arkansas and was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Looking to acquire a running back who could complement the bruising style of starter Marion Barber, the Dallas Cowboys selected Jones in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft (22nd overall). The decision process for his selection was captured in the fourth season (2008) of HBO's Hard Knocks series. He signed a professional contract on July 26 for $10.53 million, with $7.67 million guaranteed, including a $3.57 million signing bonus.
The expectations were high in Jones' rookie season; on his first rushing attempt in the NFL Jones ran for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter of a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns. On September 15, during a Monday Night Football game versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of a 41-37 win, which earned him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. In his third professional game, Jones ran for a 60-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on November 21. In Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, Jones tore his left hamstring. During his recovery process he also suffered a torn ligament in his left toe and was placed on the injured reserve list on November 20. In Jones' first year, he displayed an explosiveness that was difficult to defend for opposing teams.
In his second season, Jones received more carries per game and against the New York Giants he rushed seven times for 96 yards and a touchdown. After never rushing for more than nine carries in a professional game, Jones reached the double digit mark against the Carolina Panthers, where he also had his first career start in place of an injured Barber, recording eight carries for 94 yards (11.8) and one reception for 20 yards, but also suffered a sprained PCL in his left knee during the third quarter that ended his day and would make him miss two additional games. Jones returned to action against the Atlanta Falcons, where he also started but was ineffective, registering eight carries for 36 yards and two receptions for six yards. Jones began to average over 10 carries per game after the week 13 game against the New York Giants. Against the Eagles, Jones rushed 15 times for 91 yards with a touchdown. In the regular season, Jones set a Cowboys franchise record in average yards per carry with 5.9 yards, the tenth most since the AFL-NFL merger. He finished the year taking the main running back role over Barber and recording 569 total yards in his last 6 games, while averaging 6.2 yards per touch.
In the first Cowboys playoff win since 1996, playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Playoff Wild-Card game, Jones led the team with 16 carries for 148 yards (including a 73-yard touchdown run) and a 30-yard reception. His 148 yards are the third-most rushing yards in a playoff game in team history and his 73-yard run is the longest in franchise postseason history. Jones also became the first NFL player with 400 rushing yards on fewer than 50 career carries since Bo Jackson did it in 1987.
In 2010, Jones bulked up to 225 pounds in order to improve his durability and was officially moved to the top of the depth chart at running back. He rushed for 109 yards on 15 carries against the Tennessee Titans, for his first 100-yard game. He played in all 16 games for the first time in his career, starting seven games together or in place of Barber and leading the team with 800 rush yards on 185 carries (4.3 yards average) and a touchdown. Against the New York Giants he had the longest reception in his career (71 yards).
Jones missed the entire 2012 offseason workouts because of shoulder surgery and failed the conditioning test at the start of training camp. Used in a change-of-pace back role, Jones' best game came against the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, when he replaced an injured Murray and finished with 18 carries for 92 yards and one touchdown. After playing in all 16 games and having seven starts, he battled through knee injuries to finish with 664 yards from scrimmage and a career-worst 3.5 yards average per carry. The Cowboys decided not to re-sign Jones after the season, making him a free agent. During his five years with the team he registered 2,728 rushing yards, with a 4.8 yards average and 11 touchdowns, while also adding 1,062 receiving yards with three touchdowns.
Felix Jones played for the following teams:
2008 Cowboys
2009 Cowboys
2010 Cowboys
2011 Cowboys
2012 Cowboys
2013 Eagles
2013 Steelers
Felix Jones caught touchdown passes from Tony Romo and Jon Kitna