Brian Thomas Jr. spent the entire second half of Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium on the sideline, and the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t pretend it was an accident. Thomas dropped a catchable ball on the opening drive, finished with no catches on two targets and played 15 snaps before Travis Hunter took on a bigger offensive role. It was his second straight catchless game, both in London.
The short answer is production. Liam Coen sat a 2024 Pro Bowl receiver because the offense moved better without him, and Hunter’s 59 yards and a touchdown backed up the call. The longer answer involves a bye week, a Nov. 10 trade deadline and fans in Duval who have gone from defending Thomas to debating his future.
Why was Brian Thomas Jr. benched in London?
Coen didn’t dress it up after the game. Asked about his confidence in Thomas, he kept his answer short.
“Just week to week. Week to week. Guys have to step up and make plays,” Coen said, via the Florida Times-Union. The drop came on second-and-7 during the opening drive, and that possession ended in a punt three plays later. Thomas was targeted again late in the first half on a throw that would have moved Jacksonville into field-goal range. He didn’t see the field after halftime.
Trevor Lawrence took the softer route. “We just have to keep working, keep plugging away, keep finding opportunities to give him shots at the ball,” Lawrence said, per the team’s website. Through six games, Thomas has nine catches for 105 yards and one touchdown on 20 targets. That’s a long way from the 1,282 yards he piled up as a rookie.
Will the Jaguars trade Brian Thomas Jr. before the deadline?
Nothing public suggests a deal is close. ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote last week that Thomas is the name opposing teams get most excited about, but the Jaguars haven’t indicated a desire to move him. General manager James Gladstone went further in the offseason, calling the earlier trade chatter “fraudulent claims.”
Sunday changes the math a little. Houston sent a 2027 second-round pick to Arizona for Marvin Harrison Jr., which gives everyone a fresh price point for a young receiver who hasn’t matched his draft slot.
CBS Sports floated the Chiefs, Seahawks, Eagles, Dolphins and Raiders as possible landing spots. Jacksonville now has a bye week to field calls and roughly three weeks before the deadline. The best outcome is still Thomas winning his snaps back, but Coen’s “week to week” line turns every practice into an audition.
What happened to the Jaguars’ pass rush against the Texans?
The Jaguars didn’t record a sack. They hit C.J. Stroud twice all afternoon, and he threw for 312 yards and three touchdown passes. Jaylin Noel’s 50-yard catch and Nico Collins’ 42-yarder were the two longest plays of the game.
Coen pointed to the venue and the Wembley playing surface. “I think that venue benefits the offense in a lot of ways in terms of the pass rush,” Coen said. He also noted that Houston didn’t get home on Lawrence either, telling reporters that neither team felt much pressure: “If we weren’t feeling them, they probably didn’t feel us.”
The run defense had a rough day, too. Houston ran for 114 yards, and Coen said the Texans “ran it better than anybody has on us so far.” Penalties didn’t help, as a too-many-men flag on a fourth-and-1 punt kept alive the drive that ended in Noel’s touchdown. The pass-rush issue predates London, which is why we already floated a trade for pass-rush help.
Is Travis Hunter going to play more receiver now?
Sunday made a strong case. Hunter caught four passes for 59 yards, three of them on the drive that ended with his 7-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Then he intercepted Stroud in the end zone on second-and-goal from the 4. He’s the first player since Brian Dawkins in 2002 with a touchdown catch and an interception in the same game.
Coen said the expanded role was by design, calling it “part of the plan” to get Hunter involved early. “Was proud of the way he competed. Made some plays for us on offense, and we got to continue to build off it,” Coen said.
The tradeoff is the defense. Hunter also drew a 17-yard pass interference flag that set up a Houston touchdown before halftime, and the Jaguars still need him at corner. After Hunter’s fourth-quarter takeover, expect more offensive snaps once the bye ends, especially with Thomas’ status in limbo.
When do the Jaguars play next after the bye?
Not until Sunday, Nov. 1, when the Indianapolis Colts visit EverBank Stadium. The bye comes at a good time after back-to-back weeks in London, and folks along the St. Johns River finally get their team back home.
The AFC South lead survived Sunday. The Titans beat the Colts 26-20 in Indianapolis, so Jacksonville sits at 4-2 with a two-game edge on Indianapolis and Houston, both 2-4, while Tennessee is 1-5.
Health is the other storyline. Safety Antonio Johnson left with an ankle injury and didn’t return, with Kaevon Merriweather taking his snaps. The bye gives him two weeks to heal. After the Colts, the schedule tightens with a Thursday night trip to Baltimore on Nov. 5.
More on the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Jaguars Week 6 Stock Report: Travis Hunter Makes History, but Jarrian Jones’ Penalties Sting
- Is the AFC South Still the Jaguars’ to Lose? What the Week 6 Loss in London Told Us
- Should the Jaguars Play Travis Hunter More on Offense? His London Breakout Makes the Case
- Trevor Lawrence Has a Message for Brian Thomas Jr. After Another Quiet Day for the Jaguars WR
