Hurns suffers injury as Jags stumble again
JACKSONVILLE — Teammates and coaches gathered around Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns as he was strapped to a backboard and carried off the field Sunday.
It was gut-wrenching for them to watch until Hurns moved his hands slightly and raised both thumbs in the air.
Still, his injury was the main concern for just about everyone in the building following a 31-25 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
“I don’t like looking at stuff like that,” veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis said. “All you can do is pray and hope that everything’s going to be OK. You know how this game is: You’re always one play away. We sign up for that. We know that could be a possibility.”
Hurns left the field with 3:44 remaining and was later ruled out with a concussion. The team said Hurns had movement and feeling before he was transported to a local hospital as a precaution. He was later released, and the team said an update would be provided Monday.
“This is supposed to be a career and a game and you’re supposed to enjoy it,” tight end Julius Thomas said. “We all understand the risks that go with playing football. But you hate to see somebody leave the game on a stretcher. Neither team wants that to happen or to be the case. We’ve got to be there for him.
“I hate to see that happen to one of my teammates, especially to a guy that’s been having a hell of a season. Our prayers are with him. I hope he’s OK.”
Hurns, who has played in 27 consecutive games and battled through an ankle injury and a sports hernia this season, caught four passes for 42 yards in the loss. The second-year pro, a former undrafted rookie from Miami, has 48 receptions for 758 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He set a franchise record by catching a touchdown pass in seven consecutive games.
Like players and coaches, fans held their breath as Hurns was evaluated on the field.
They booed a few minutes later, angry that Chargers coach Mike McCoy challenged the incomplete pass.
Officials ruled the ball hit the ground, but replays showed it may have been in Hurns’ hands and then landed on his stomach as he rolled over. The Chargers picked it up off Hurns body, and McCoy tried to get it ruled an interception.
Fans were livid that McCoy, whose team was leading 31-19 at the time, would challenge a play after Hurns was carried off.
As for the game, Jacksonville can blame the loss on more red-zone troubles. They scored just once in four trips inside the 20-yard line, falling to 5 of 18 in red-zone scoring the last five games.
“It hasn’t cost us the last couple of weeks,” Thomas said. “But you play against a team like the Chargers with a lot of veterans out there and they find a way to punch it in. You look down at the scoreboard at the end of the game and you say, ‘If we score two more touchdowns instead of field goals, we get this one.’ ”
Two of those red-zone drives ended with field goals after Blake Bortles scrambled on third down and threw passes beyond the line of scrimmage.
“That’s kind of stupid,” said Bortles, who completed 30 of 49 passes for 329 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. “I don’t know from a coach’s perspective what you tell a guy that does that, ‘Quit being an idiot?’ I don’t know. I’ve never done that in my life, and I did it twice today.
“It’s not really something you ever talk about with a coach. It’s kind of a given. From the time you start playing football, you can’t throw the ball forward past the line of scrimmage. Bad plays, tough ones to live with.”
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