Travis Hunter made his first interception in the NFL on Sunday. His teammate, Josh Hines-Allen, tried to save the ball, which led to a bizarre altercation with an employee.
The ball boy was just trying to do his job!
I hope the NFL made this right. Nobody was in the wrong, it appeared to be a misunderstanding.
Travis Hunter finally made his first NFL interception.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft missed the majority of his rookie season with a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. Travis Hunter played in only seven games before his injury. He made 28 catches on offense with 15 tackles on defense.
Now, ~11 months later, Hunter is fully healthy. The Jaguars got him back in the lineup for the 2026 season-opener and kept his role fluid on both sides of the ball. However, he will mostly play on defense this year. Jacksonville wants him at corner.
Through the first three games of the year, Hunter has one catch for eight yards and one carry for three yard on offense with nine total tackles on defense. The 23-year-old also came down with the first interception of his NFL career on Sunday.
Drake Maye took the snap from the two-yard-line, rolled out to the right on the play-action and threw to the back of the end zone off of his back leg. The pass floated directly into the arms of Hunter, who leaped in front of the intended target.
To be fair to Maye, the Jaguars defensive line was excellent throughout the entire game. That does not excuse his decision to throw to Efton Chism when Hunter was all over him. It was an awful throw. The defensive back was right there.
Hunter’s first-career interception proved to be the turning point in the game. New England was about to get in the end zone to cut the score to 14-10. Jacksonville went on to win 35-6. Any momentum in favor of the Patriots was crushed in that moment.
Josh Hines-Allen got into an altercation with the ball boy.
The first interception of your professional career is a very big deal. It’s a moment that Travis Hunter will not soon forget. He could retire as the all-time record holder for the most interceptions by a defender in NFL history with 82 career interceptions but very few of them (if any) will mean as much as his first.
With that in mind, defensive end Josh Hines-Allen tried to get the ball for his teammate. Hunter would love to keep it.
What happened next was bizarre. Hines-Allen got into a heated altercation with the ball boy, who was upset with physical contact.
My POV of Travis Hunter’s 1st career interception
— Brandon Green🍀 (@BGreenReports) September 27, 2026
Weird interaction at the end between #Jaguars Josh Hines-Allen and the ball-guy when he tried to get the ball pic.twitter.com/7ByHNjK4D8
Technically speaking, the ball boy was doing what he is employed to do. It was an obvious misunderstanding. The situation escalated far beyond what was necessary. A Jacksonville staffer stepped in to break it up and deescalate.
Unfortunately, I have not seen an update on the football and its whereabouts. I don’t know whether Hunter got to keep it or if the ball was thrown right back into the game. I hope he got to keep it. Surely the ball boy gave it up after an explanation.