The Indianapolis Colts lost on Sunday to drop to 2-4 on the season and are two games behind AFC South leaders, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Indy has no chance to catch the Jags by Week 8, the first time the teams meet, but after what Travis Hunter did in Week 6, that future game is not going to be easy.
Hunter, of course, was elite as a defensive back and wide receiver when he was in college, but the Jags have had him focus on being a cornerback in his first season-plus. He does see time at wideout, but that has been even more limited this season than last. That was until Week 6, though.
Jacksonville might have begun to unleash Hunter. He had an interception in the end zone, but he also had a receiving touchdown. In doing that, he was the third player since 1970 to have a pick and catch a TD pass in the same game. The last time that happened was in 2002.
Jaguars' Week 6 use of Travis Hunter should worry the Indianapolis Colts
But Hunter didn't just have one catch, but was instrumental in the second half as Jacksonville kept trying to claw back into a game they would eventually lose to the Houston Texans 34-31. Hunter finished with four catches for 59 yards, catching all of his targets and showing explosiveness with the ball in his hands.
Defensively, he had three tackles along with one pass defended. That he was targeted more by the Texans is more a sign of how good Hunter was in coverage, not a lack of doing anything special.
Why this matters is that the Jags chose an interesting time to begin throwing the ball to Hunter again. He had only been targeted twice in the team's first five games. That obviously doubled when Jacksonville took on another high-level AFC South opponent. The next division opponent the Jaguars have is Indy in two weeks.
One can assume that based on what happened with Hunter in Week 6, and the success that came along with that, the Jags won't simply go back to not using Hunter much, especially if that means earning a victory against a divisional foe.
The entire situation should simply make the Indianapolis Colts versus the Jacksonville Jaguars even more interesting. Imagine Hunter lined up across from Sauce Gardner. That would be one of the best matchups in the league. Let's just hope Gardner isn't too hurt after having to leave the game against the Titans in the second half. He was one of the few bright spots in a dismal performance.
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