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What does Travis Hunter's big day in Jacksonville Jaguars loss to Rams mean moving forward?
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- What does Travis Hunter's big day in Jacksonville Jaguars loss to Rams mean moving forward?
LONDON — Travis Hunter doesn't care about personal accolades.
Even after an eight-catch, 101-yard performance for the Jacksonville Jaguars that included his first touchdown, Hunter thought only of the team and what he could do to help the team reach its weekly goal of winning. They lost 35-7 to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium.
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"I ain't worried about the stats. We got to do better on the football field. We got to come out and we just got to win. That's what I'm most focused on, just doing my job and having the other guys do their job, and we come out on top," Hunter said when asked about his breakout performance.
The touchdown wasn't anything complicated, either . At least not to the second-overall pick .
"I told coach to get me the ball, I'll go out there and make a play. He got me the ball, and I did what I had to do," said Hunter.
Hunter scored on second-and-three with about 9:13 remaining in the game on a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence deep down the right side of the field. Hunter drew a holding penalty on Rams safety Quentin Lake .
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Hunter hadn't scored in the regular season through six games this season. Many have speculated when he would get the opportunity to do just that. Hunter's wife, Leanna Hunter, also got in on the fun and knew many were waiting to see Hunter get into the end zone.
"ABOUT. TIME. !!!!!," she said via Instagram.
Hunter hasn't thought that far ahead, though, and wasn't simply waiting for his first NFL touchdown. He'd probably rather win than get in the end zone if one had to guess.
"I wasn't thinking about that," Hunter said of scoring his first TD. "I was just thinking about putting points on the board for my team."
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Hunter said he will give his first touchdown football to his son. Hunter announced the birth of his baby boy on Aug. 27.
His first score, though, could open eyes to what the young playmaker can do if he's given the opportunity on the offensive side of the ball.
The Jaguars went into Sunday's game with the intention of getting him heavily involved on offense. Hunter was limited defensively, as a result and saw a career-high number of targets (14) on the day.
"In the second half there definitely was a plan going into the game that we wanted to utilize him more on the offensive side of the ball, specifically trying to get the ball into his hands, and then the first half was just kind of funky the way we couldn't get anybody the ball consistently and get into a rhythm," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said after the team's 35-7 loss to the Rams.
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The Jaguars struggled to get much of anything going in the first half , resulting in drives that consisted of three punts, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs.
Coen said the team was intentional in their usage of Hunter on offense, which gave him more of an opportunity to get involved in the second half. Hunter exited the first half with three targets, but zero catches.
"Then he was able to make some plays in the second half. Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] was able to find him on some things that were obviously designed to go to him in some ways. Happy that he got his first touchdown; tough to see it come in that moment," said Coen.
The Jaguars were down 28-0 when Hunter finally found the end zone. There were about nine minutes left on the clock when Hunter crossed the goalline.
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Trevor Lawrence excited about future with Travis Hunter
Though the result isn't what the team wanted, Lawrence is excited about the future with Hunter at receiver.
"I felt like I was able to find him a little bit more today than in the past. Even still there, I think there's so much that we can learn from and grow from in our chemistry and seeing the game the same. I think it's getting there," Lawrence said, adding that's why their connection appeared to improve during the second half.
"There's still a lot of meat on the bone for us to take advantage of, honestly. I'm excited for that, and we just got to continue to get better," he added.
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Hunter will continue to evolve within Jacksonville's offense as the weeks move forward. His performance in London will also give Lawrence more confidence to get him the football whenever possible, too.
"It's good to know for me as a quarterback to keep in the back of my mind that he just makes plays whenever the ball comes to him," Lawrence said.
Jaguars know they can't keep beating themselves
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs with the ball against Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Kinchens (26) and linebacker Nate Landman (53) during the second half during a NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images
For a second straight week, the Jaguars had far too many self-inflicted wounds, plays that only hurt themselves, not just the Rams being the better team.
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The Jaguars accounted for 13 penalties for 119 yards. One of those flags came during a crucial moment. Trailing 14-0, the Jaguars received a punt from L.A. Receiver Parker Washington took the ball 62 yards for a touchdown, only for it to be called back due to an illegal block in the back foul.
The team also added four drops and Lawrence struggled to get the ball away due to L.A.'s defensive front. The Jaguars gave up seven sacks. The team gave up seven sacks last week, too.
The team also had multiple pass interference penalties throughout the contest. A neutral zone infraction penalty gave the Rams plenty of options on a fourth-and-one play that turned into a one-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson .
After the game, Coen spoke about the team's need to get out of their own way.
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"It was everything we said we didn't want to do did occur. So starts with me. Got to figure it out. Got a long flight home and some days off to do that," Coen said.
Coen essentially said something similar last week when the team dropped the ball against the Seattle Seahawks . The Jaguars were unable to get out of their own way, resulting in a 20-12 loss at home.
The Jaguars hopped on a plane to London on Monday night last week, getting the full week's experience to get acclimated before playing on Sunday.
That didn't seem to matter, though.
"You wouldn't have guessed that we were here for a week prepared, ready to go play in this atmosphere by looking at it in terms of the way we started the game," said Coen.
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The Jaguars lost 35-7 with every opportunity to get back into the game, only to be squandered by a drop, failed execution or otherwise.
It's something that comes with football, Hunter said.
"I won't say it's easy. It comes with football. We just got to do better. The most disciplined teams wins, and they out-disciplined us today," Hunter said.
The Jaguars will have a full week off for their bye week before returning to the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9.
Until then, Hunter's breakout performance ought to keep the team hopeful for what they can do offensively in the second half of the season.
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What does Travis Hunter's huge day in Jacksonville Jaguars loss mean?
