6 Instant Observations on Jaguars' Steamrolling Patriots: Travis Hunter's Big Day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Well, that was a good afternoon for Duval.

The Jacksonville Jaguars completely dominated the New England Patriots in Week 3, taking down the Patriots 35-6 to improve to 2-1 on the season. So, what did we see from the Jaguars during the home blowout? We break it all down below.

The AFC Hierarchy Has Been Changed

nfl — Sep 27, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen stands on the sidelines during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New England Patriots were widely ranked ahead of the Jaguars in AFC straw polls before the season. That can not be the case now after the performance the Jaguars just had at EverBank Stadium, with the Jaguars forcing three turnovers and putting up 35 points with relative ease. Not many things looked difficult for the Jaguars against New England, who represented the AFC in the Super Bowl a year ago.

Simply put, the Jaguars responded. They did what they had to do to shake off the tough loss against the Denver Broncos last week, and that is exactly what they did against New England. If the loss on the road to the Broncos caused any potential concerns for the Jaguars in the AFC's big picture moving forward, then Sunday's win should ease some concerns. The Jaguars are in the thick of it when it comes to the AFC, and they are clearly on a different level right now than the Patriots could hope to be.

Travis Hunter's Big Play Came at the Perfect Time

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter (12) celebrates his interception in the second quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars were certainly looking for a bigger week out of Travis Hunter this week, and they got it. Hunter made arguably the most important play of the game with a red-zone interception of Drake Maye right before halftime, keeping the Patriots from cutting into the Jaguars' halftime lead. Had the Patriots scored, it would have been potentially 14-10 at halftime with the Patriots getting the ball after the half.

TRAVIS HUNTER INT ALERT 🚨@NEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/wILwED2EBi
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

The Jaguars have not seemed worried internally really at all about Hunter's development, and the fact that he just played only the 10th game of his NFL career has been forgotten quite a bit. But it still felt like the pressure was building for Hunter to do something to change a game, and he did that for the Jaguars on Sunday.

Parker Washington is Indeed WR1

nfl — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) celebrates his first down in the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Parker Washington may not have gotten the barrage of targets this week that he has gotten the last few weeks, but it didn't matter. When the Jaguars needed a big play to be made, it seemed like Washington was the Jaguars receiver who was consistently winning his matchups. The Jaguars' fourth-year receiver made two incredible touchdown catches on back-to-back plays; one didn't count due to a penalty, but the next one sure did, with Washington recording one of the most impressive plays of his entire career.

WHAT A CATCH BY PARKER WASHINGTON FOR THE TD 🔥@NEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/bdHkd0xp0X
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Washington has been such an important part of the Jaguars' offense to start the season that it has become a bit impossible to make any argument against extending him. With games like the one he had on Sunday, it has simply become clear that Washington is too important of a weapon for the Jaguars to ever part with. He will be extended eventually, because the Jaguars can't afford to not do so.

DaVon Hamilton Has Become an Elite NT

We said earlier in the week that DaVon Hamilton was set to be an X-Factor for the Jaguars against a Patriots team that clearly wants to get under center and run the ball, and boy did he do that. Hamilton had arguably the best game of what has been a very impressive career to this point, recording a fumble recovery, a sack, a should-have-been forced fumble on Drake Maye, and several big run stops.

Hamilton has simply aged for the Jaguars like fine wine. He has gotten better every single season in recent years, and he has now progressed to the point where he should be seen as one of the game's best nose tackles. He is a game wrecker for the Jaguars' defensive line, and there is very little else he has to do to prove it.

Josh Cameron Has Earned the Trust

I was surprised when Josh Cameron scored a touchdown in his NFL debut in Week 1. I was much less surprised two weeks later when he caught his second touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Trevor Lawrence to put the Jaguars up 7-0. Cameron has been a legit red-zone threat for the Jaguars since the season started, and it is easy to see why the Jaguars have been so comfortable with putting the impressive rookie on the field so often: trust.

Cameron has simply been able to do something that many pass-catchers during the Lawrence era have been unable to do: reliably catch the football. He had a funky semi-drop on the first drive of the game, but it has become very clear the Jaguars and Lawrence as a whole genuinely trust their sixth-round rookie. So far, he has given them no reason to doubt them.

The Pass-Rush is Still an Issue

drake maye — Sep 27, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to throw downfield during the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Jaguars' pass defense still allowed far too many explosive plays against the Patriots' pass offense on Sunday, even despite the Patriots not having A.J. Brown. It felt like coverage was the biggest issue when it came to explosive plays a week ago against Denver, whereas it felt like this week the pass-rush was the bigger issue. The Jaguars only had three quarterback hits in the first three quarters before the Patriots had to start throwing the ball, and two of those quarterback hits came from Foyesade Oluokun. The other was on a Ruke Orhororo sack that resulted in a loss of just one yard.

The Patriots went with plenty of chips and heavy formations to try to offset the Jaguars' edge rushers, and the Jaguars responded with another heavy blitz day. It did not feel like there too many times where they impacted the Patriots and Maye, though, and it instead felt like most of Maye's negative plays were more self-inflicted than the result of the Jaguars doing anything to cause it.

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