Tag: jaguars highlights

Watch: Jaguars’ Travon Walker bulldozes way into fumble return TD

Watch: Jaguars’ Travon Walker bulldozes way into fumble return TD

The Jaguars will have defensive end (and potential future running back?) Travon Walker to thank in large part if they can pull off a 22-point comeback against the Eagles on Sunday.

After Jacksonville scored its first touchdown of the game, a one-yard sneak by quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 5:26 left in the third quarter, Walker scooped up a fumble by Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley and ran it back 35 yards to reduce the Eagles lead to one possession.

Referees ruled Barkley was not down by contact after getting tripped up by Jaguars linebacker Ventrell Miller on a 1st and 10 rushing attempt. Barkley lost his grip on the football as he tried to crawl forward for extra yardage.

The 6-foot-5, 272-pound Walker recovered the loose ball, shed four would-be tacklers and followed multiple Jaguars defenders-turned-blockers en route to the massive score, the first touchdown of his NFL career.

A pitch-and-catch between Lawrence and tight end Evan Engram converted Jacksonville’s second-consecutive two-point attempt, making it a 22-16 game.

Jacksonville’s No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft out of Georgia, Walker starred at Thomaston (Ga.) Upson-Lee in high school as a two-way player, scoring five offensive touchdowns in addition to his role on the defensive line, per MaxPreps.

The All-22 angle of Brian Thomas Jr.’s first Jaguars TD is even better

The All-22 angle of Brian Thomas Jr.’s first Jaguars TD is even better

Thought you were impressed by wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.’s first touchdown catch with the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Just wait until you see the All-22 angle.

As Miami defensive tackle Zach Sieler rounded the edge on a stunt rush and neared Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Lawrence stepped Sieler’s incoming hit to deliver a pristine pass to Thomas on a crossing route into the back of the end zone.

Thomas cleared the goal line inside the left hash as Lawrence let the ball go. It flew over three Dolphins coverage defenders’ heads and into Thomas’ hands, who completed the grab in toe-tapping fashion approaching the back-left boundary for six points.

“That’s just us and trusting it and me trusting he’s going to get there and him trusting I’m going to put it in the right spot,” Lawrence described the play after Jacksonville’s 20-17 loss to Miami. “And you see he made a great play, so it was awesome.”

Thomas, the Jaguars’ No. 23 overall selection in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, caught four passes over as many targets for 46 yards and the score in his debut with Jacksonville.

Watch: Jaguars rookie Brian Thomas Jr. makes incredible first TD catch

Watch: Jaguars rookie Brian Thomas Jr. makes incredible first TD catch

Welcome to the NFL, Brian Thomas Jr.

Thomas, the Jaguars’ No. 23 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, got his pro career off to a hot start Sunday by making a highlight touchdown grab in the second quarter of Jacksonville’s season-opener at Miami.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence pitched a perfect pass to Thomas in the back-left area of the end zone, where Thomas, who sneaked behind Dolphins defenders while running a crossing route, made a toe-tapping catch in stride.

Thomas’ first-career score gave Jacksonville a 14-0 lead with 6:21 left until halftime. At press time, Thomas had caught three passes for 29 yards and the touchdown.

Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor commended Thomas this week for the growth he displayed during his first training camp and preseason with Jacksonville, noting the 38-yard catch-and-run the rookie had on a similar crosser against Atlanta in the preseason as an embodiment of his progress and increased confidence.

“I think even going back to the Atlanta preseason game, he caught the crosser. If you just watch the tape, he’s open, he gets out, he runs it a certain way,” Taylor recalled on Thursday.

“We spent a lot of time as a group just detailing that specific route, and what it looks like and all the different looks for it. So then to see the way he ran it, dove inside, got vertical, stuck his foot, separated, that was exactly what we talked about. So just to see him grow on the little details, the little nuances of one simple little route to where it carried over to game.”

Watch: Evan Engram catches two acrobatic TDs in Jaguars vs. Falcons

Watch: Evan Engram catches two acrobatic TDs in Jaguars vs. Falcons

It might be Week 3 of the preseason, but Evan Engram looks like he is already in midseason form.

Engram made an acrobatic, contested, toe-tapping touchdown catch on the first offensive drive of Jacksonville’s preseason finale at Atlanta Friday night, hauling in a quick pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to give the Jaguars the first lead of the game.

The Jaguars’ social media team put it well: “Are you kidding me?”

The catch marked Engram’s third of the series and was one of his four on the night, making for an active final exhibition for the Jaguars’ starting tight end as the 2024 regular season approaches.

Engram’s next grab went for another score, a five-yard, leaping catch on a pass from Lawrence with more space around him in the end zone, the final play of the night for Jacksonville’s starting offense.

Engram’s 114 receptions posted last year were the second-most in a single season in Jaguars history, behind wide receiver Jimmy Smith’s 116 in 1999. He finished the campaign with 963 yards and four touchdowns.

In two seasons with Jacksonville, Engram has caught 187 passes for 1,729 yards and eight touchdowns, bringing his seven-year career totals to 449 receptions for 4,557 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Watch: Jaguars’ Washington explodes on first new-rule kickoff return

Watch: Jaguars’ Washington explodes on first new-rule kickoff return

The NFL’s main objective with its new kickoff rules was to make the play fun again; to limit touchbacks and revitalize returns.

If the Jaguars’ first try at the play is any indication, mission accomplished.

Back deep alongside running back Tank Bigsby on Jacksonville’s first kickoff return of the 2024 preseason, wide receiver Parker Washington hauled the ball in, weaved his way between Kansas City defenders and pushed down the field for a massive pickup.

Washington took the kick back 73 yards, the longest kickoff return of the preseason and under the new rules up until that point, per NFL GSIS.

Watch Washington’s return below.

Jacksonville’s offensive quickly capitalized on Washington’s big gain. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence connected with running back Travis Etienne Jr. on a seven-yard touchdown pass four plays later.

Washington returned a Kansas City punt for 13 yards to set up the Jaguars’ second offensive drive shortly after.

Lawrence and the Jaguars’ coaching staff have been complimentary of Washington, Jacksonville’s sixth-round draft pick in 2023, throughout his second offseason with the club. He entered the NFL recently removed from an ankle injury suffered at Penn State.

“Parker Washington has looked great. We’ve talked about it before I think, but from last year to this year, such an improvement on just the way he’s played,” Lawrence said on Thursday.

“I mentioned that last time he started off a little injured and it was hard for him to kind of get going because it was straight into training camp and he had to roll and didn’t have [offseason team activities] to get settled in. So, to see him this year, it’s been cool to see his transformation and how good he looks, honestly. I’ve been really impressed.”

Washington caught 16 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns during his rookie season with the Jaguars.