Travis Hunter first NFL interception
Travis Hunter first NFL interceptionJaguars beat Patriots 35-6Jaguars Patriots score September 2026Drake Maye interceptions 2026Travis Hunter interception Drake MayeJaguars vs Patriots Week 3Jaguars defense turnovers PatriotsCam Little 70-yard field goal attemptParker Washington touchdown JaguarsJaguars 2-1 record 2026
JACKSONVILLE — Travis Hunter's first NFL interception arrived with New England two yards from the end zone and the game still close enough to turn. On third-and-goal late in the second quarter, Drake Maye rolled right and floated a pass toward the back line. Hunter rose, took it away and converted a Patriots scoring chance into the defining image of Jacksonville's 35-6 win at EverBank Stadium. The afternoon was equal parts statement and autopsy: the Jaguars buried the frustration of their Week 2 loss to Denver, while the defending AFC champions looked increasingly unlike the team that reached last season's Super Bowl.
How it happened: the fewest mistakes win
The Florida Times-Union framed the day with an old truth: sometimes the team making the fewest mistakes wins, not the team making the most spectacular plays. Jacksonville made that principle look ruthless. Maye's first turnover was an empty-hand fumble recovered by defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton. His second was Hunter's end-zone interception. His third was another interception, this one by cornerback Jarrian Jones. Jacksonville committed one interception of its own, and New England turned it into its only three points. The turnover margin was plus-two for the Jaguars; the scoreboard margin became 29.
Hunter's pick was especially costly because New England was already at the Jacksonville 2. A throwaway likely would have preserved a short field-goal attempt; instead, the Patriots left with nothing. Jacksonville then moved far enough for Cam Little to try a 70-yard field goal before halftime. It sailed wide right but had the distance — a miss that still demonstrated genuine NFL-record range.
Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter and reached halftime 13-of-19 for 111 yards. Parker Washington caught three passes for 40 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown with defenders draped over him that put Jacksonville ahead 21-3. Bhayshul Tuten had 48 yards on eight first-half carries, then scored from the 1 with 8:02 left in the fourth after Lawrence broke through the line, raced down the sideline and inexplicably took a knee one yard short. The kneel had no effect on the result, but fantasy managers will remember the touchdown that vanished.
Travis Hunter's moment — and what it proves
Hunter's interception lands inside a debate the Jaguars have managed carefully and everyone else has tried to rush. Is the second-year player a full-time corner, an offensive weapon, or the rare athlete whose value depends on refusing to choose? Black and Teal noted the early-season concern around his rotation, while NFL Media's Cameron Wolfe reported that Jacksonville planned a substantial Week 3 increase in his workload. Against New England, Hunter played the bulk of his snaps on defense, and the patience plan produced a game-changing return.
One interception does not settle the two-way experiment. It does show why Jacksonville was willing to send Cleveland a major haul to draft Hunter No. 2 overall in 2025. He brought nine college interceptions into the league, plus the ball skills to play receiver at the highest level. His abbreviated rookie season produced three pass deflections and a forced fumble before a non-contact knee injury in practice last October ended the back half of the year. He rehabbed through the summer and was not fully cleared until training camp began in July. Easing him in was not timidity; it was asset management.
The play itself was a concentrated example of Hunter's appeal. Maye created movement by rolling right, but Hunter stayed connected, found the flight of the ball and won at its highest point. He had nearly intercepted a pass the previous week against Denver and deflected one intended for Mack Hollins early Sunday. The breakthrough felt earned rather than accidental.
Hunter remains raw: he surrendered a long completion early and was out of position on a couple of snaps. The point is not that one highlight made him a finished cornerback, but that increased responsibility produced the half's most consequential defensive play.
Why this matters: September games define seasons
September does not decide the playoffs, but it establishes which problems can be corrected and which ones may become identities. Jacksonville arrived carrying the sting of the Denver loss. A second straight AFC defeat would have turned an uneven opening into a trend, especially with the Jaguars still trying to define themselves under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. Instead, the defense forced three turnovers, protected the goal line and gave the offense short, decisive opportunities. That is an identity a 2-1 team can build around.
The plus-two turnover margin explains how a competitive first half became a demolition. Jacksonville's interception gifted New England three points, but the Jaguars repeatedly stopped the Patriots from turning opportunity into momentum. In the AFC South, a conference win and a 2-1 record restore room to maneuver.
For New England, the warning is harsher. The Patriots entered the season as the reigning AFC champions and last season's Super Bowl runners-up. They left Jacksonville at 1-2 with an offense that protected neither the football nor its own scoring chances. Championship pedigree is useful only when it survives into the next season's habits. On Sunday, New England's habits looked regressive.
The Drake Maye problem, in plain numbers
Maye has thrown five interceptions in the first 10 quarters of the 2026 season after throwing eight across the entire 17-game 2025 regular season, according to NBC Sports. His interception streak now spans all three games to open this season, the Times-Union reported. If the early rate somehow held across a full 17-game schedule, it would project to roughly 34 interceptions. That is not a forecast — small-sample extrapolation can be absurd — but it is an efficient way to show how severe the opening pace has been.
Sunday was worse than the interception column alone. Maye committed three turnovers in one afternoon: the empty-hand fumble recovered by Hamilton, the end-zone mistake punished by Hunter and the later interception taken by Jones. The first turnover helped Jacksonville score; the second likely cost New England at least three points. Each mistake changed field position, but together they changed the game's emotional ownership.
Analysis: The concern is decision-making under pressure, not bad luck. The fumble exposed ball security; the Hunter interception came on third down, when a throwaway would have preserved points; the Jones pick confirmed the pattern. It is too early to declare a championship hangover, but a contender cannot keep asking its defense to absorb this many lost possessions.
Winners and losers
Winner — Travis Hunter: His first NFL interception justified a larger defensive role, while the imperfect snaps preserved the case for patient development rather than instant coronation.
Winner — Trevor Lawrence: Two second-quarter touchdown passes and a 13-of-19, 111-yard first half gave Jacksonville command. The knee at the 1 will follow him on highlight shows, but it did not change who controlled the afternoon.
Winner — the Jaguars defense: Three takeaways, including a goal-line interception, turned Campanile's unit into the game's author.
Winner — Cam Little's leg: A miss is a miss, but a 70-yard try that sailed wide with the distance proved NFL-record range is real.
Loser — Drake Maye: Five picks in 10 quarters and an interception in three straight games are not sustainable for a contender.
Losers — New England's red-zone offense and fantasy managers: The Patriots reached the 2 and came away empty; fantasy players watched Lawrence kneel at the 1 before Tuten scored. Only one failure matters in New England's film room.
What happens next
Hunter's role should only grow. The more defensive snaps he handles, the louder the two-way question becomes: when, and how much, can Jacksonville layer receiver work back into his week without undercutting the progress at corner? Sunday did not solve the experiment. It made the experiment more compelling.
New England's next task is damage control. If Maye's interception pace continues, the conversation will move quickly from early-season volatility to whether the offense must be simplified around him. The Patriots were AFC champions last season, but status does not protect a quarterback from the mathematics of lost possessions.
One blowout does not erase Jacksonville's Week 2 failure in Denver. It does, however, offer the AFC's most convincing Week 3 statement: a 35-6 answer built on defense, restraint and a young star arriving at exactly the right moment. The Jaguars are 2-1 because they made fewer mistakes. They may be more dangerous because Hunter has begun making the kind of play they traded up to get.
Sources
- NBC Sports / Pro Football Talk — “Travis Hunter's first NFL interception sends Jags to halftime up 14-3” (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Florida Times-Union — “Jacksonville Jaguars take advantage of Patriots mistakes in 35-6 win” (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Jaguars Wire / USA Today — “Jaguars' Travis Hunter records first interception v. Patriots” (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Black and Teal — “Travis Hunter proves the Jaguars' approach works by picking off Drake Maye” (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Pro Football Network — fan reaction to Travis Hunter's first interception (Sept. 27, 2026)