Travis Hunter spent Sunday looking like a full-time cornerback, because that’s exactly what he was.
In the Jaguars’ win over the Bengals, Hunter played every snap on defense and never stepped onto the field on offense. He also was not used on special teams. With cornerbacks Montaric “Buster” Brown and Christian Braswell both sidelined by injuries, Jaguars coach Liam Coen said Hunter’s value on defense left the team unwilling to take any chances.
“We knew with Buster being down and Braswell being down, he was going to play every single snap of the game,” Coen said of Hunter. “We had some things for him on offense, but we just didn’t feel like putting him out there - if he gets hurt on offense, we’re in a real bad spot.
So didn’t want to put ourselves at risk there. I was very proud of the way Travis played defensively today.”
Hunter made his presence felt all over that side of the ball. He had an interception wiped out by a penalty, broke up multiple passes and delivered several hard hits.
“He played his ass off today,” Coen said. “He had the pick that was called back, he had a ton of PBUs, he had the huge tackle, ended up knocking the dude out pretty good. I just thought Trav balled today.”
The Jaguars aren’t putting that label on him publicly, but the usage says plenty: right now, Hunter is functioning far more like a cornerback with an occasional offensive package than a true two-way player. On a day when he had one assignment, he handled it.
In Other News...
Jaguars Win Brought One Rising Threat And One Growing Concern
Bhayshul Tuten kept flashing as a steady source of rushing production in the Jaguars Week 4 win over the Bengals, while Arik Armstead finished as the team leader in pressures and Brenton Strange posted a career high in receiving yards. The snapshot from Sunday offered a familiar mix for Jacksonville: a few players whose roles seem to be growing by the week, and enough impact plays to help explain how the offense and defense each found a way to shape the result.
But the win also came with some uneven tape. Anton Harrison and Bryan Thomas Jr. had stretches that were less convincing, and the bigger concern may be what is happening in the secondary, where injuries are starting to pile up. Montaric Browns absence is part of that uneasy picture, and it leaves Jacksonville with a little less margin for error as the season begins to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Keep Winning But This First-Place Start Comes With A Warning
The Jaguars are 3-1 and alone in first place in the AFC South after edging the Bengals, 22-17, in a game that looked every bit like early-season football in all its messy forms. Jacksonville leaned on defense, with interceptions from Travis Hunter and Jourdan Lewis helping swing momentum, while the Jaguars also had to work through turnovers and penalties in a choppy game that never fully settled into rhythm.
The warning for Jacksonville is pretty clear: the record is strong, but the margin for error has been slim. Cincinnati made a late push before Rayaun Lane came through with the key tackle to seal it, and the Jaguars will have to clean up the details if they want this kind of start to hold up once opponents start making them pay for the same mistakes. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Showed Something Fans Needed To See In Crunch Time
The Jaguars did not make life easy on themselves against the Bengals, but they found a way to finish a close game the kind of way good teams have to. In a matchup filled with flags and mistakes, Jacksonville still came away with a 22-17 win, getting enough timely plays from Brenton Strange, Josh Cameron and Brian Thomas Jr. to stay in front and improve to 3-1 after four weeks.
What stood out most was the response when the game tightened late. Even with 125 penalty yards putting the offense and defense behind the chains more often than not, the Jaguars made the final defensive stop they needed, with Rayuan Lane helping lock it down. For a team still building its identity, that kind of crunch-time resolve matters, even if the cleanup from a messy afternoon is still very much part of the story. [Read more 🡒]