The Jacksonville Jaguars have excelled at creating turnovers this season. They had a league-best nine takeaways ahead of Week 4, and their defense added two more in a close game against the San Francisco 49ers. On the other hand, the Jags lost two key contributors on that side of the ball.
Defensive end Travon Walker suffered a wrist injury early in the game and was eventually ruled out. Later, safety Eric Murray left the game with a neck injury. Not surprisingly, the Niners scored their first touchdown of the game and completed their two-point conversion to draw within 17-14.
The good news is that even after Walker left the game, the defense held its own, with Devin Lloyd registering the third takeaway of the game.
Before he got hurt, Walker had logged one total pressure. During his absence, Emmanuel Ogbah and Dawuane Smoot have seen an uptick in playing time.
On the other hand, Murray's absence most definitely hurts the secondary. With fellow safety Antonio Johnson also getting hurt, rookie Rayuan Lane was pressed into action.
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The Jaguars may not share updates about Travon Walker and Eric Murray soon
Under first-year head coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars have been somewhat secretive about injuries. Back in training camp, defensive tackle Maason suffered an injury, but the training camp didn't reveal what kind it was or the severity. Then, wide receiver Dyami Brown sustained a shoulder injury in Week 3, and the team didn't unveil many details early on.
This is a long-winded way to say that the Jaguars probably won't reveal just how serious Travon Walker's and Eric Murray's injuries are. If the former misses anytime, they'll continue to lean on a mix of Emmanuel Ogbah and Dawuane Smoot to replace him. Similarly, rookies B.J. Green and Danny Striggow could get expanded roles.
On the other hand, Murray's injury could test Jacksonville's depth at safety. It's uncertain how severe Antonio Johnson's injury is. If it's nothing too huge, he will step into the starting lineup, but if it's something serious, Rayuane Lane may be thrust into a featured role, which isn't ideal when you take into account that he's more of a contributor on special teams.
Ultimately, the Jaguars just suffered a couple injuries that could turn out to be massive blows, if not against the 49ers, probably in future games.