{"id":228705,"date":"2025-09-15T12:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228705\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:30:14","slug":"liam-coen-evaluates-travis-hunters-defensive-performance-vs-bengals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/228705\/","title":{"rendered":"Liam Coen Evaluates Travis Hunter’s Defensive Performance vs. Bengals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Travis Hunter Jr. played 85 snaps on offense and defense for the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> in their Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. 42 of them came at wide receiver, and the remaining 43 were at cornerback. Coming into the game, <\/p>\n

Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen had stated that he intended for his second-overall pick to get more playing time on D than he did in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. <\/p>\n

There was speculation that the decision was due to the matchup. The Bengals have a renowned passing game, led by Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. With all of that firepower from the opposition, it would make sense for Jacksonville to insert a little juice into its secondary with its star prospect.<\/p>\n

However, Coen went on to say that it was just a natural progression of Hunter Jr.’s development<\/a> in the NFL. Ultimately, Hunter Jr. may have played more on defense than he, Coen, or anyone else expected. With fellow cornerback Jarrian Jones going down with a back injury in the first quarter, the onus was on the rookie to take over against an elite wide receiver corps. <\/p>\n

\"Travis<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) gets pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during 2nd quarter at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, September 14, 2025. \/ Cara Owsley\/ The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

On offense, Travis Hunter Jr. played decently well. He caught three of his six targets from Trevor Lawrence, gaining 22 yards in the process. His usage on that side of the ball may have been reduced schematically, though, with the Jacksonville Jaguars knowing that they’d need his talents on defense more, especially after Jarrian Jones’ injury. <\/p>\n

As a cornerback, Hunter Jr. registered two solo tackles and a pass breakup. He also drew a flag for a crucial pass interference penalty while trying to defend a pass to Andrei Iosivas down the sideline. That call came on 4th-and-5 and gave the Cincinnati Bengals an automatic first down on what turned out to be the game-winning drive<\/a>. After the game, Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen was asked about his rookie’s defensive showing:<\/p>\n

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#Doubt<\/a>
pic.twitter.com\/Qtvbv3b1DR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Aside from that play getting called, I didn\u2019t see him do anything necessarily bad. On the sideline, I thought he made a nice play on a break-up, and he had good energy out there. Jarrian [Jones] got nicked up a little bit, so it forced a little bit more naturally, even though we wanted to get him a little more work as it was. He just keeps competing. I didn\u2019t get a great chance to watch him individually. I just know I don\u2019t think he hurt us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually, no news is good news for an NFL cornerback. If that DPI wasn’t called, and many say it shouldn’t have been, Hunter Jr. might have had just about as great a first prominent defensive game as anyone could have hoped for. <\/p>\n

Find us on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@_John_Shipley<\/a> to keep up with Travis Hunter Jr.’s rookie season on defense.<\/p>\n

Give us your thoughts on Travis Hunter Jr.’s defensive pass interference flag when you add us on Facebook, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n