Travis Hunter didn’t even have time to process anything besides the little celebratory dance he did after his 1st career interception.
With just under a minute left in the second quarter, Hunter snagged the pass from Drake Maye in the endzone, did a little celebration for the camera, and ran right back into his position on the defense.
He mentioned that a solid win against the Patriots was his primary focus, despite scoring a career milestone. He had to finish the game.
Travis Hunter Had Other Priorities… After Catching His First Career-Interception
“Interceptions are great to catch, but I was focused on winning the game and continuing to focus on the next play,” Hunter said post-game. “It felt great, but I was on to the next play, you know?” That happened in the second quarter, so I had to finish the game.”
He indeed helped the Jaguars in a statement 35-6 victory over the Patriots.
Hunter somehow managed to hold off and outjump Efton Chism III, the receiver who New England quarterback Drake Maye was trying to hit from the 2-yard line, and caught the pass, keeping the Jaguars 14-3 lead intact entering the halftime.
That early start kept the Patriots limited to playing catch-up the entire time, and gave Coen’s squad the upper hand.
Perhaps it was Maye getting panicked or Hunter getting restless for his first-career interception that made it possible.
He also had another opportunity early on in the game, when Patriots’ pass catcher Mack Hollins leaped up to make a play on the ball. Were it not for Hunter mistiming his jump by a fraction, that would have been his first-career interception. But the two-way star learned his lesson and made the right call the next time a chance came up.
Since Foye Oluokun and Josh Hines-Allen were hot on his heels, Maye panicked and threw the ball towards a receiver that he thought was open. That’s exactly the type of goal-line play he had played plenty of times in practice. It paid off.
It Took a While, But Hunter Finally Got the Monkey Off his Back
Finally getting his first NFL interception after 385 days since his debut gave him a little bit of relief, too.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Hunter said post-game. “I know [Maye] tried me a couple times [with some throws], so I was just in there saying, ‘I’m getting too close to the ball. I’ve got to get me one.’ So we just continued to do what the coaches schemed up for us, and we just played our best part of it.”
Head coach Liam Coen says it was like getting a monkey off his back.
“Travis to make the play, get the little bit of the monkey off his back a little bit in some ways to go out there and make a huge play [was critical],” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said when asked about Hunter’s play.
He also credited defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile on scheming it up for them.
“The coach (Anthony Campanile) did a great job on scheming it up for us. So, he called the perfect call for us. We all talked, and we communicated on my side of the ball, and I just made it happen,” Hunter said.
Jaguars’ Travis Hunter Explains Why he Held Back Hype After First Career INT vs. Patriots