Travis Hunter did what was asked of him ... but are the Jags going to ask enough? Jay BusbeeSeptember 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM 1 There was a brief time in the late '80s/early '90s when American sports had not one, but two different twosport stars, icons who played both baseball and football at the highest...
- - Travis Hunter did what was asked of him ... but are the Jags going to ask enough?
Jay BusbeeSeptember 8, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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There was a brief time in the late '80s/early '90s when American sports had not one, but two different two-sport stars, icons who played both baseball and football at the highest level. You may have heard their names — Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. For a few years there, we tracked their every hit, tackle and helicopter ride. It was, in every sense of the word, awesome.
That'll never happen again, because the demands of each sport, and the demands of the teams offering nine-figure contracts, won't permit it. The closest we'll ever get again is what we have right this moment: Shohei Ohtani slugging and (occasionally) pitching at an elite level for the Dodgers in baseball, and now Travis Hunter patrolling both sides of the ball for the Jaguars in the NFL.
Lost in the spectacle of Sunday's Week 1 highs and lows, Hunter's performance in Jacksonville's easy 26-10 win over Carolina still stands as a small but notable landmark. Hunter won't be able to duplicate the feats of his college coach, but he can still bring a Deion-esque charge to a Jacksonville franchise in desperate search of any signs of life.
Hunter spent most of his time on offense — 44 snaps total — targeted eight times and reeling in a team-leading six receptions for 33 yards. His first catch was his longest of the day, a 10-yarder early in the first quarter, and he was hyped at the moment:
Travis Hunter's first NFL catch!CARvsJAX on FOXhttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/CRV1aC4VrT
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
On defense, Hunter played six snaps and assisted on one tackle. He allowed one reception for 12 yards, per Pro Football Focus. Listed as a starting wide receiver and backup cornerback, Hunter will clearly be more of an offensive weapon than a defensive asset early in the season.
"I thought he played hard on offense," Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen said after the game. "I thought he played fast, had some good catches, ran the right routes. I can only see it going and expanding from here."
CBS research indicated he's the first player in 20 years to record both five-plus receptions and five-plus snaps on the defensive side of the ball. That's impressive in any context, but in your first game as a rookie? Astounding.
"I did my job," Hunter said after the game. "That was the main focus. I did what they asked me to do. I know I can do more and I know I can do better."
Yes, he did what they asked him to do, but considering what the Jaguars gave up to draft him — most notably a first-round pick next year — it's fair to ask: Is playing 65% of offensive snaps and just 10% of defensive snaps enough?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports illustration)
Back for the 2025 season, Asked & Answered offers up some key questions and resolving others. We start with two uncomfortable New York moments …
Asked: How did everyone miss on Daniel Jones?
Yes, this is probably a vast overreaction, and not the first time we've all overreacted to one good day from Daniel Jones. But the simple truth here is that he guided Indianapolis to points on every single one of their possessions against Miami on Sunday, throwing for a touchdown and running for two more along the way. Given the struggles of his former New York team, it's fair to assume that Jones, like Rodgers, enjoyed a little schadenfreude at his old squad's expense. The question for Jones now is whether this was a one-time pop on an extremely bad Miami team, or whether he's in a situation now that fits his strengths more than New York ever did. We'll find out next week when Indy faces Denver in the Peyton Bowl.
Aaron Rodgers listens to the boos as he walks off the field after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers over his former team, the New York Jets. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) (Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)Answered: Aaron Rodgers has still got it
Lost in the midst of all the Aaron Rodgers "revenge" talk from Sunday's big win over the Jets was this: the old guy's still got some game. Yes, Rodgers is now slower than a clock before summer break, and yes, his longest pass on Sunday against the Jets went for just 31 yards. But four touchdowns are still 28 points, no matter how many liver spots are on the hand of the passer who's slinging them. Next week: The home debut in Pittsburgh against the Seahawks, and another reasonable chance for Rodgers to prove he's not just on a ceremonial victory lap.
Asked: Why didn't the Ravens go for it on fourth down?
Here's why you never tune away from an NFL game, especially one featuring transcendent talents like Josh Allen: You never know when you might just see a classic. Sunday night's Week 1 gem between Baltimore and Buffalo is going to be tough to beat for game of the year, even though we've only had 15 so far. It had everything: spectacular plays, dramatic comebacks, wrenching mistakes … and a debatable coaching choice.
With 1:33 left in the game and Baltimore on its own 38, the Ravens faced 4th-and-3. The conventional wisdom would say to kick it away and let your defense win the game … and that's just what Baltimore did only for the defense to give up a game-winning field goal. So why not put some faith in your offense? If Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry can't get three yards, who can? (Jackson said he was suffering from cramps, otherwise they would have gone for it.) Yes, it's an all-in gamble — Buffalo was already in field goal range if the attempt had failed — but why not take that kind of chance in a Week 1 non-division game? If anybody's got the credibility to attempt that, John Harbaugh does. We'll see how large that decision looms when playoff seeding comes around in January … because you know these two teams will be deep in the mix.
Answered: The winner of the Bryce Young-CJ Stroud debate is … nobody
Well, this is awkward. Two years after they made their debuts in the NFL, Carolina's Bryce Young and Houston's CJ Stroud are not exactly looking like third-year QBs. Both lost on Sunday, Young to Jacksonville and Stroud to the Rams, and both shoulder at least some of the blame, for different reasons. Young was 18 of 35 for 154 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two costly interceptions for an anemic rating of 49.0. After Young led Carolina to a game-tying field goal late in the first quarter, Jacksonville reeled off 20 unanswered points, and by then it was far too late for any heroics. Stroud's afternoon was arguably even more painful, because he and Houston let a winnable road game against the Rams slip from their hands. Stroud could only manage 188 yards on 19-of-27 passing, with zero touchdowns and an interception. Stroud's play didn't kill Houston — a late fumble with two minutes left and the Texans just outside the red zone did that — but Stroud didn't lift them up, either. There's a long way to go, both in the season and in their respective careers, but the clouds are gathering over both.
Asked: What can Cincinnati do with a good first step?
For just the second time in the seven seasons Zac Taylor has coached Cincinnati, the Bengals have come away with a Week 1 victory. It wasn't easy — Cincinnati needed some dodgy kicking and ball control from Cleveland — but a win is a win, even if it's 17-16. Between Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the rest of a potentially explosive offense, Joe Burrow ought to have enough to work with every week to drop 28 or so points on an opposition without even getting loose, so Cincinnati should take Sunday as a trap dodged. In Taylor's six seasons, the Bengals have made the playoffs only twice, but they were good ones — a Super Bowl and a conference championship appearance — and in the stacked-and-packed AFC, every single game will matter. If nothing else, the Bengals are already a game up on the Chiefs and Ravens. Next up: the Jaguars, and a chance to put a lot of distance between those woeful early weeks of past seasons.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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