Charlie Jones makes play of the season for Bengals on opening kickoff vs. Browns

There are good ways to start a football game, and then there's this. Wide receiver Charlie Jones made the play of the season for the Cincinnati Bengals as he took the opening kickoff of Cincinnati's Week 7 matchup with the Cleveland Browns 100 yards all the way to the house.

Charlie Jones returns opening kick for 100-yard TD vs. Browns

Jones received the kick at the edge of the End Zone and then proceeded to run virtually untouched all the way down the field to the opposite End Zone. He stumbled a bit along the sideline towards the end of the run, but he was able to maintain his balance enough to keep his feet inbounds and finish off an absolutely epic play with six points. Check it out below:

That was Cincinnati's first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2020, according to ESPN's Ben Baby.

Jones finds a way to make his mark

Jones has been largely a non-factor for the Bengals so far this season. In fact, through six games he has just one target and one reception for a total of five yards. In fact, up until that kick return touchdown, Jones' most memorable play of the season was probably when he fumbled and lost a punt early in the second half of Cincinnati's Week 1 matchup with the New England Patriots. It's safe to say that he made up for that miscue with his epic highlight against Cleveland.

Heading into the game against the Browns, Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow emphasized the importance of getting out to a fast start.

"If we can get out on them early it makes them play the game a different way then they have against us the last several years," Burrow said. "We’ll play the game however it ends up playing out and we’ll be ready for it. Just like every week you want to get off to a fast start."

A 100-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff might not be exactly what Burrow had in mind, but he'll assuredly take it.

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