WATCH: Travon Walker draws critical roughing the passer flag for shove of Justin Herbert
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie edge rusher Travon Walker picked up a questionable roughing the passer penalty early in the fourth quarter of a wildcard round matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The Jacksonville pass rush got home to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on a 3rd and long and had him wrapped up as refs whistled the play dead. But a second or two after the whistle, Walker gave Herbert another little shove — not anything excessive for a football game, but enough for the ref standing right there to pull out the flag.
A drive that was otherwise virtually done was instead extended as the Chargers attempted to build on a 30-20 lead. And it’ll be a controversial call among Jaguars fans, for sure.
And in a game where so many calls have gone against the home team — from a questionable missed defensive pass interference on a Trevor Lawrence interception to a non-review on what appeared to be a drop for the Chargers, it’s been a tough ride for the Jaguars on Saturday night.
WATCH: Asante Samuel Jr nabs third interception of first half against Jaguars, taunts crowd
Asante Samuel Jr. can keep playing football for a long time and he’ll struggle to match his performance in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday night. Three interceptions in a half of football is hard to top, especially as the Los Angeles Chargers are romping to big lead.
And after Samuel nabbed his third interception off of Trevor Lawrence — the fourth for the Jaguars second-year quarterback in the first half — before halftime, he had to rub it in. Back on the bench, he faced the crowd and tallied up his takeways.
Not one, not two, but three first-half interceptions. And the three balls Samuel caught in the first half, at that point, were more catches on passes thrown by Lawrence than any Jaguars player.