LONDON (AP) — With his team trailing 28-0, Travis Hunter wanted to make something — anything — happen for the Jaguars.
“I just told Coach to give me the ball. I’ll go out there and make a play,” Jacksonville's star rookie said. “He got me the ball and I just did what I had to do.”
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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams (17) is challenged by Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during the second half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) catches the ball as Los Angeles Rams Emmanuel Forbes Jr. closes in during the second half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs onto the field for an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) reaches to catch the ball as Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (14) challenges during the first half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Hunter's 34-yard reception for a score was his first NFL touchdown, but it was just a consolation prize in Jacksonville’s 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
“I was just thinking about putting points on the board for my team,” the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner said.
Given the circumstances, Hunter opted not to celebrate. He just jogged back to the bench with the ball in his hands. He said he'll give it to his son.
Hunter finished with eight receptions for 101 yards — his best day as a pro.
“They were holding him,” Trevor Lawrence said of the touchdown pass. "But (he) fought through contact, still made the play on the ball.
“Everybody sees how special he is when you give him opportunities,” Lawrence added. “Our chemistry and seeing the game the same — I think it’s getting there. There’s still a lot of meat on the bone to take advantage of. He just makes plays whenever the ball comes to him.”
Jags coach Liam Coen said this week that he’d look for ways to get Hunter more involved in the offense.
“There definitely was a plan going into the game that we wanted utilize him more on the offensive side of the ball, specifically trying to get the ball into his hands,” Coen said.
“The first half was just kind of funky, the way we couldn’t get anybody the ball consistently and get into a rhythm,” Coen said. "He was able to make some plays in the second half, Trevor was able to find him on some things that were obviously designed to go to him in some ways.
“Happy that he got his first touchdown — tough to see it come in that moment.”
Coen had wanted his team to play with their “hair on fire.”
Lawrence had Hunter open on the Jaguars’ first offensive play. He took a sack.
“I’ve just got to put it on him,” Lawrence said.
“We’ve got to start the games faster,” he added. “There’s some plays that I’ve got to make early to get us going, and it’s routine stuff.”
The Jags fell behind 14-0 as Matthew Stafford completed passes to a variety of Rams receivers.
The Jags committed 13 penalties for 119 yards, perhaps none more costly than Jarrian Jones' illegal block to nullify a would-be touchdown on a punt return by Parker Washington.
It was still 14-0 at that point.
On the drive, Brian Thomas Jr. had a key drop on a third down — a recurring issue with the receiver — and Cam Little then missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt.
The Rams then moved the ball and scored for a 21-0 lead.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” Hunter said. “The most disciplined team wins. They out-disciplined us.”
Lawrence was sacked seven times for the second straight game.
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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams (17) is challenged by Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during the second half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) catches the ball as Los Angeles Rams Emmanuel Forbes Jr. closes in during the second half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs onto the field for an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) reaches to catch the ball as Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (14) challenges during the first half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won the Democratic primary in a battleground New Jersey congressional district to take on Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who has been absent with an unspecified illness for months.
Bennett’s victory over three other Democrats on Tuesday sets up the state’s premier contest in November, when the party hopes it can flip the onetime Republican stronghold that has proven competitive in recent years. The district includes bedroom communities and farm towns as well as President Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club.
Kean’s absence — his last vote was in early March — has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided U.S. House. Voters in the 7th District have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.
Addressing supporters in Bridgewater, Bennett called Kean a “coward.”
“You are failing us, and you do not deserve to represent us in Washington,” she said.
In her speech, Bennett referred to “Tom Kean Jr., wherever you are,” drawing applause from supporters. She criticized Kean over his vote for Trump’s tax legislation and his failure to stand up to the president's threat to cut funding for a rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York.
Trump's package of spending and tax cuts expanded the state and local tax deduction. New Jersey has among the highest property taxes in the nation.
The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Bennett built her campaign around her experience as a Navy helicopter pilot as well as around affordability, noting that she drives a no-frills sedan and emphasizing her relatability as a working mom.
Araz Shahinian, a 49-year-old systems developer, said he voted for Bennett, noting he’s worried about the state of politics and rising prices. “She had the more centrist views,” he said.
Bennett's victory comes as Kean, who received Trump’s endorsement, remains out of public view. He did not make any appearances ahead of the primary, and he did not face a challenge for the Republican nomination.
Kean issued a statement on Tuesday saying “I will continue putting our constituents first” and “I am optimistic about the road ahead.”
“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals. I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said, without explaining his condition.
Nina Ovryn, a Democratic voter and Bennett supporter who attended her victory party, said she was disappointed by Kean's absence.
“It shines a spotlight on the fact that he’s basically absent in the district and now he’s absent in Congress,” she said.
The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it's gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.
Justin Murphy, an attorney from southern New Jersey, won the state’s Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, setting up a fall contest with incumbent Democratic Sen. Cory Booker.
Murphy faces the tall task of becoming the first New Jersey Republican to win a race for Senate in more than five decades — and in a year when control of the chamber is being hotly contested.
Booker was uncontested in Tuesday's Democratic primary and is running for a full third term.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump's first term. Zack Mullock, the mayor of Cape May, New Jersey, won the district's Democratic primary Tuesday.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, won a crowded primary in the heavily Democratic 12th District in central New Jersey, where Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman is retiring. He'll face attorney Gregg Mele, who was unchallenged in the GOP primary.
Hamawy shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.
Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheikh's trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheikh during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.
The Republican primary in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District was too early to call. Rosie Pino led Tiffany Burress by 366 votes out of 12,702 votes counted. It was unclear how many votes were left to count in Passaic County, where Burress led Pino by 25 percentage points.
The winner will take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Her margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.
This story was first published on June 2, 2026. It was updated on June 3, 2026 to correct that in the Republican primary for the 9th District, Tiffany Burress led Rosie Pino in Passaic County by 25 percentage points, not 45 points, and to correct the spelling of a Bennett supporter’s name to Nina Ovryn, not Orvyn.
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
From left, Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, holds her daughter Rosie, alongside her husband Alex Hydrean and daughter Millie during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, hugs attendees during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, speaks during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, speaks during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, hugs an attendee during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Supporters hug during a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Supporters cheer during a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Voting messages are displayed on a car at a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A worker sets up the stage during a primary election night watch party for Rebecca Bennett, Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Bridgewater, N.J. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A sign directs voters to a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Cherry Hill township, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A person walks from a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Oaklyn, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - This photo combination shows Democrat candidates for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, from left, Rebecca Bennett, May 30, 2026, in Flemington, N.J., Brian Varela, May 30, 2026, in Sparta, N.J. and Michael Roth, May 31, 2026, in Rahway, N.J. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Westfield, addresses reporters in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
