Heading into the 2025 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a trio of promising wide receivers in Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Brian Thomas, Jr., with Parker Washington trailing in fourth. He had a promising show at training camp, and kept the hype going through the first two weeks of the regular season.
During the Jaguars' Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, for example, Washington had a big game, with five receptions for 72 yards on six targets. Yet the next week, he struggled against the Houston Texans, with two major drops that definitely led to some questions about his performance and abilities.
Yet Liam Coen still had faith in him, saying he wasn't giving up on Washington. "I have not lost any confidence in Parker by any means. You know, stuff happens," Coen told the media. "It's not obviously something that we're excited about in the moment. But he took full, he takes a lot of responsibility and accountability, works his tail off every single day. Like I said, he literally had his best week of practice last week as a Jag since we've been here. So there's a lot of confidence. Really."
And Washington just repaid that faith in a big way.
Parker Washington's major punt return set the Jaguars up for the win
The San Francisco 49ers were beginning to mount a comeback when Washington slammed that door shut. He not only scored Jacksonville's first punt return touchdown in eight seasons, but he ran an incredible 87 yards in the process.
PARKER WASHINGTON 87-YARD PUNT RETURN TD!
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
JAXvsSF on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/POblWVbYrl
It was a devastating double whammy for San Francisco; Devin Lloyd nabbed an interception off of Brock Purdy, which netted Jacksonville a field goal from Cam Little. Immediately after that, Washington had his epic punt return.
There's no understating how big this play was for the Jaguars; the momentum had started to shift into the 49ers' favor, and Washington not only put an end to that, but shifted it back in Jacksonville's favor.
This was the second punt return for a touchdown of his career, having previously nailing a 96-yard punt return against New England last season. Washington may not be as flashy as Travis Hunter, or as well-known as Brian Thomas, Jr., but he's proving that he's a receiver the Jaguars can rely on.