The Las Vegas Raiders will look to play spoiler against a Jacksonville Jaguars team in the middle of an AFC playoff race. While the Silver and Black aren’t likely to make the playoffs, they can make life difficult for those pushing for the postseason.
Moreover, Las Vegas will look for a bounce-back win after its disastrous 31-0 loss in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nonetheless, the Jaguars are also looking to rebound as they have lost two straight games.
On the October 31 edition of “NFL Live,” ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes shared what Jacksonville must do against the Raiders in their Week 9 game to snap their losing skid, especially after the news that Travis Hunter will be out for a few weeks.
“For the Jacksonville Jaguars, obviously, you need the secondary pass catchers to step up,” Kimes said. “I would argue, though, that equally important, they’ve got to get back to running the football the way they did the first few weeks of the season.
“Something I thought Liam Coen did an excellent job of at Tampa Bay was making adjustments in the run game to the personnel he had. This offensive line is not as good as the one he had in Tampa, but he has to find answers.”
Jaguars Star Will Miss Several Weeks
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on October 31 that Hunter suffered a non-contact knee injury during practice the previous day and will be placed on injured reserve.
“He will miss at least four games,” Coen said (h/t Pro Football Talk). “We’re currently assessing the injury just to determine the best course of action moving forward for Travis and the team.
“We’re still assessing. We haven’t gotten all of the information. This just kind of got going last night when we got some information. So, we’re still waiting on further information to be able to determine how long it will be.”
Jaguars Without Travis Hunter for Raiders Game Not Ideal
He’s played a key role across the board, logging 67 percent of the offensive snaps, 35 percent on defense, and some time on special teams. His standout performance came before Jacksonville’s bye week, when he hauled in eight passes for 101 yards and scored his first career touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams.
“Yeah, it’s definitely not ideal timing — not that any injury is ideal timing,” Coen added. “But got to believe the makeup, his general attitude toward life, how he handles dealing with specific situations — I have a lot of belief in Travis as a person, as a competitor to come back better than ever.
“You just feel bad for the guy, for the kid, for our team, for everything. But he’s in good spirits right now. And a minor setback for a major comeback. That’s just the way it’s got to be.”
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