The Jaguars walked out of Sunday with a 35-6 win over the visiting New England Patriots, and the biggest takeaway wasn’t just that the scoreboard looked ugly for New England. It was that Jacksonville left Week 3 with a clearer picture of who this team is becoming.
For Brian Thomas Jr., that picture is getting harder to read. A week after drawing eight targets in Denver, he was targeted just once against the Patriots.
His snap total matched sixth-round rookie receiver Josh Cameron at 23, and both were well behind Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers. That is a sharp drop for a player who was supposed to be a major part of the passing game, and the Jaguars simply do not seem to be treating him that way right now.
That becomes even more noticeable when you look at how Jacksonville is moving the ball. The Jaguars put up 35 points without completing a single pass 20 yards downfield, and over the last 20 regular-season games, the lack of vertical chances for Thomas has become impossible to ignore. If Cameron is ahead of Thomas again in snap count next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, that conversation is only going to get louder.
The run game, meanwhile, looks like it has found its footing in a big way. Through three games, Jacksonville ranks No. 2 in run offense by EPA/Play and No. 3 in Success Rate.
That’s a major jump from a year ago, when the Jaguars were eighth and ninth in those same categories after three weeks. The backs have done exactly what this offense needs them to do: ease the burden on the passing game.
Bhayshul Tuten has now stacked three strong performances in a row, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. delivered his best game so far on Sunday. After the win, head coach Liam Coen explained how deliberate the staff was in using Rodriguez in the right spots.
"Some of those critical downs, whether it was on the short yardage situation, some of those tough yards in between the tackles, down in the low red zone. Chris [RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.] has been a little bit frustrated with himself in some ways with some of his misreads and maybe some of the things over the last two games that he wasn't as jacked up about," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after the game.
"I think he had a phenomenal week of practice. We were intentional about what runs we really wanted C-Rod on.
When he's in the game and when those backs are in the game, just being intentional about what we're calling in some of those situations."
If Rodriguez keeps rolling and Tuten keeps climbing, this offense could be headed toward its best version under Coen. The ingredients are starting to line up the way Jacksonville hoped they would when this offseason began.
Then there’s Travis Hunter, who turned in the kind of day that should matter long after the Patriots game fades from memory. He posted career-highs in defensive snaps and defensive snap percentage, and that may have been the most important development of all. Jacksonville didn’t ask much of him on offense, but that wasn’t the priority on a day when the team scored 35 points, leaned heavily on two tight end sets, and has a rookie receiver in Josh Cameron who it clearly trusts.
What mattered was getting Hunter more work, more comfort, and more experience at cornerback. That happened. He also added a red-zone interception, but the bigger story is that he is still learning the position and starting to look more at ease with each additional snap.
The Jaguars need him most on defense, especially with Washington and Meyers in the mix on offense. Every rep at corner helps him grow, even the ones that end in a completion allowed.
Hunter’s progress at that spot will be measured over time, but the direction is already encouraging. If he keeps playing that kind of volume on defense, he could be a much better version of himself by the end of the season than he is today - and even today, that version is already pretty good.
In Other News...
Jaguars Sideline Scuffle Just Turned Into A Weird Staffer Mystery
Travis Hunters first career interception gave the Jaguars a jolt on Sunday, but the attention quickly shifted to a sideline scuffle over the football that followed. Josh Hines-Allen got involved in the brief flare-up, and what should have been a celebratory keepsake instead turned into one of those odd football moments that lingers because nobody is entirely sure who was in the middle of it.
The strangest part is the mystery around the staffer involved. A single-source claim suggested the person was not employed by the Jaguars and may have been linked to the New England Patriots, but neither team has confirmed that detail. Jaguars coach Liam Coen said the situation appears resolved, although the question of exactly who was involved remains hanging over an otherwise memorable takeaway from Hunters first pick. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Hines-Allen Sideline Scuffle Took A Strange Jaguars Turn
Travis Hunters first career interception quickly became more than a notable play on the Jaguars sideline, where Josh Hines-Allen got caught up in a brief scuffle over the football. What started as a scramble for the souvenir turned into a tug-of-war and a shove, a strange little detour on a day that was supposed to be about a defensive highlight and a new chapter for Hunter.
Liam Coen said the matter appears resolved, but the odd part of the episode is still hanging out there. An unconfirmed TMZ Sports report suggested the man in the exchange may have been with the Patriots rather than the Jaguars, and neither team has confirmed who he was, leaving the incident with a simple ending on the field but an unresolved twist off it. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Are Off To A Strong Start But One Doubt Remains
Through three weeks of the 2026 season, the Jaguars have done enough to look like a legitimate part of the early Super Bowl conversation. A 2-1 start, paired with efficient play from Trevor Lawrence, has them sitting in the same broad tier as other teams drawing notice around the league, even as the standings remain fluid this early in the year.
Still, the bigger question for Jacksonville is whether the opening run is a true sign of staying power or just a strong first month. The Seahawks and Bengals are also 2-1, and the Bengals surprising loss to the Steelers is a reminder of how quickly the picture can change. For the Jaguars, the start has been encouraging, but the real test is whether they can turn it into the kind of consistency that keeps them in the contender discussion deeper into the fall. [Read more 🡒]