Travis Hunter became the first NFL player since 2002 to record an interception and a touchdown catch in the same game, a two-way feat he produced Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London despite the Jacksonville Jaguars falling to the Houston Texans 34-31. Hunter caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence early in the fourth quarter, then intercepted a C.J. Stroud pass in the end zone on the Texans’ next drive.
The sequence gave the Jaguars rookie standout a rare line that stat sheets almost never show. Only two other players in the Super Bowl era had logged an interception and a receiving touchdown in the same game before Hunter did it Sunday: Brian Dawkins in 2002 and Roy Green in 1981, according to Sportsnet. Hunter is the first to pull it off since Dawkins did it 24 years ago, per Yahoo Sports.
The Main Development: A Two-Way Milestone
Hunter’s touchdown came on a 7-yard catch from Lawrence to open the fourth quarter. On Houston’s ensuing possession, he stepped in front of a Stroud throw in the end zone for the interception, turning a potential Texans score into a turnover. The two plays bookended a game that still slipped away from Jacksonville on Ka’imi Fairbairn’s field goal as time expired.
Hunter finished with four catches for 59 yards and the touchdown on offense, adding three tackles and the pick on defense. ESPN‘s game recap described the outing as the moment Hunter finally delivered the dual-threat performance he insisted he could achieve in the NFL.
What It Means For Hunter’s Role
The Jaguars selected Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and his usage has shifted sharply since his rookie season. As a rookie, he played 67% of offensive snaps and just 36% of defensive snaps across seven games. Head coach Liam Coen committed to flipping that balance afterward, and through five games this season before the Houston matchup, Hunter had played 79% of defensive snaps and only 7% of offensive snaps.
Sunday’s performance showed what Hunter can still provide even in a defense-heavy role, scoring through the air while making a defensive play in the same game. The interception was his second of the season, following his first career pick in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. He now has one receiving touchdown and two interceptions on the year.
Context: A Rare Statistical Company
The accomplishment places Hunter in exclusive historical territory. Bleacher Report‘s coverage of the game noted the achievement among a small group of players to pull off the combination in Super Bowl era history, underscoring how uncommon the feat remains even with decades of NFL games to draw from. Whether counted as the third or among a slightly larger group depending on how playoff games factor in, the regular-season drought stretching back to 2002 is not in dispute.
What’s Next
The Jaguars’ loss to the Texans dropped Jacksonville’s record as the team heads toward its next matchup. Hunter’s workload split between offense and defense will remain a storyline to track as Coen continues managing how often the two-way player lines up on each side of the ball. For more on Jacksonville’s season, see the Jaguars vs. Bengals preview.
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