Big Cat Country
The Jacksonville Jaguars stole a thriller on the road in Vegas on Sunday as they narrowly came away with a 30-29 victory to bring their record to 5-3 on the season. It was a wild game full of massive swings of momentum and for the Jags to figure out a way to win that one with the amount of injuries they were dealing with, as well as the reported illness of their quarterback, it showed a lot of grit that the fan base was hoping to see after dropping two consecutive games before the bye.
While a game like that typically requires the stars and veterans to step up, the rookies had some moments as well. Let’s break down their impact in the Week 9 Jaguars Rookie Report.
Travis Hunter
The news that Travis Hunter was being placed on IR due to a non-contact knee injury during practice last Thursday left the Jacksonville fanbase holding their breath in unison. Luckily, early reports are that it is not expected to be a long term injury and the expectation is that Hunter could be back by as early as Week 13.
Hunter had just started to look more and more comfortable on both sides of the ball and there were hints that his usage was about to ramp up, so the timing of the injury is unfortunate to say the least. However, with the recent acquisition of Jakobi Meyers, the Jaguars can now afford to have some patience in terms of getting Hunter up to that expectation of a full-time role at corner and receiver.
Bhayshul Tuten
Bhayshul Tuten matched his season high in touches on Sunday with 10 as he played a key role in Jacksonville’s thrilling OT victory. Tuten carried the ball nine times for 29 yards and a TD on the day with his two best runs coming in the clutch during Jacksonville’s overtime touchdown drive. He had an eleven yard carry and a 7 yard carry on back to back plays which put the Jaguars on the Vegas 4-yard line. This would help set up Trevor Lawrence’s game-winning TD run just a couple of plays later.
It’s very telling of how highly the coaching staff thinks of Tuten just to even have him in the game in such a pivotal drive, let alone to give him touches. His role and impact continue to increase as the season progresses.
Jack Kiser
Linebacker Jack Kiser continues to be a core special teamer for the Jaguars as he registered two tackles on kick coverage on Sunday. Unfortunately both were after good returns from Raheem Mostert, including a 54-yarder that set up a field goal drive for Las Vegas. The unit will need to clean up the kickoff coverage issues going forward and Kiser will have to be a big part of that.
Rayuan Lane
Along the same vein as Kiser, Rayuan Lane was unable to make much of a contribution as a special teamer. However, his impact has mostly been felt...
