One thing was for certain in Jacoby Jones' Dancing With The Stars debut: He sure can put on a show.
The Ravens wide receiver closed out the season 16 premier with his rendition of the cha-cha, which even included a portion of Ray Lewis' famous "Squirrel Dance."
The dance brought the crowd to their feet and was a powerful way to close out the show.
"That was like a big collection of touchdown dances," judge Carrie Ann Inaba said after the dance.
Jones and partner Karina Smirnoff received a score of 20 out of 30 on the night. The high score of the night was 24, given to Disney star Zendaya Coleman and professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
The biggest critique of Jones from the judges was that he lacked polish in the dance. He had the flare, but needed to improve in the overall presentation.
"This was all icing and no cake," said judge Len Goodman. "It was all performance drive. Your technique was terrible. You're bent over. Your footwork was terrible."
After Goodman finished his critique, Jones quipped back, "I love you too."
Judge Bruno Tonioli told Jones that he has the potential to become one of the stars of the season, but still has to refine his dance moves.
"You can grind it as well as I've seen people grinding it in 16 seasons," Tonioli said. "But you have to work on your foot placement because your feet are really turned in. You have to place them correctly. You have to control your posture. But you've got the goods."
Jones also had the support of his teammates, who were tweeting throughout the show. Here are some of the tweets from teammates during the night:
@TeamFlacco: @TheRealJacoby 12 was awesome! Be sure to vote for him!
@TorreySmithWR: Yeahhhhh Buddyyyyyyyyy @TheRealJacoby12 #DWTS
@LWebb21: Killed it!! 10! 10! 10!
Baltimore was also clearly interested in the show and reacting on social media, as both #VoteJacoby and #TeamBaltimore were trending on Twitter after his performance.
After the dance, Jones was noticeably winded, showing the kind of workout that dancing can be. Even after a few minutes to cool down, he was still breathing heavy when he was interviewed.
"There is no play in the NFL that lasts 1 minute, 30 seconds," Jones said. "This is a continuation. The kick return [for a touchdown in the Super Bowl] lasted 11 seconds, then there were TV timeouts and then the lights went out."
Before Jones and Smirnoff hit the dance floor, the show revealed that Jones had postseason knee surgery that limited this ability to rehearse and kept him on the sidelines up until a week before Monday night's debut.
"I hate being a bench warmer," Jones said during one of the pre-taped segments.
Fans could vote online up to 11 a.m. Tuesday, and the first results show will be next Tuesday, March 26.
The contestants will get another chance to perform on next Monday's show, before the first dancing couple is voted off.
To vote for Jones in the future, fans can do so on ABC's website, on Facebook, with a phone call or via text message. Fans can also follow this link to vote online: www.bmob.us/votejacoby.
