It was an up-and-down showing for Jabbar Muhammad in the Jacksonville Jaguars' preseason opener in New Orleans. The former Oregon Ducks shutdown corner lost contain and missed a tackle on the first drive of the game, allowing the New Orleans Saints to take an early lead.
Fortunately, there was still plenty of game left to make up for the early miscue.
Muhammad wound up leading all Jaguars defenders with six tackles in the game, including a tackle for loss. The former Duck was at the center of the game again on the final drive with an opportunity to seal the win.
On fourth down, Saints quarterback Hunter Dekkers looked in Muhammad's direction and fired a short pass to Barion Brown, but Muhammad knocked it away, appearing to end the game. However,
the referees called pass interference against Muhammad, extending the game and giving the Saints another shot near the end zone.
As time expired, Dekkers lofted another ball to the corner of the end zone, but Muhammad knocked it away cleanly this time, winning the game for Jacksonville, 24-20. Despite a few rough patches, Muhammad stayed connected in the game and redeemed himself at the best moment possible.
Jabbar Muhammad with a CLUTCH PBU 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/6F5g3PS9fh
— NFL (@NFL) August 15, 2026
"I can always be better, for sure," Muhammad said after the game. "I feel like a lot of the tit-for-tat plays, I've got to end up finishing those. At the end of the day, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Going out there to make the game-saving play, it feels really good."
Muhammad's strong outing didn't come as a shock to the Jaguars. After spending his rookie season on the practice squad, Muhammad has turned heads in fall camp, and Saturday's performance pushed him closer to securing a spot on the 53-man roster.
"I'm not surprised at all," defensive end B.J Green II said. "I knew Jabbar in college, so he's been like that. Everybody's just now noticing. I knew exactly what he was, what he was capable of, how he can go there. He can go toe-to-toe with anybody. If I see anybody versus Jabbar, I'm going to pick Jabbar 10 out of 10 times. It's a regular occurrence. All props to him being able to shut out the game, but those are the things that you expect from guys who step up to the plate like that."
The Ducks only had Muhammad for one season, having previously transferred from Oklahoma State and Washington. In Oregon's undefeated 2024 regular season, Muhammad earned All-Big Ten second-team honors and led the conference with 12 pass breakups.
While he may have physical limitations, Muhammad has always been sticky in man coverage, and the opportunity to take on NFL talent early in his career hasn't fazed him. He has dazzled in training camp with the Jaguars, building on his practice squad experience as a rookie, and now it's translating to the field under the bright lights.
"My confidence stays high, especially at corner," Muhammad said. "You can't derail, never. Then you'll start doing stuff that you don't usually do. Confidence is the number one thing at cornerback. You're on an island all day against their fastest players, going backwards."
Even with two weeks to go in the NFL preseason, Muhammad is trending for a spot on the roster when the season begins. His ability to line up inside or outside and get his hands to the ball are tough to overlook. Although things are going well now, Muhammad has experienced being on the wrong side of roster cutdown day, so his work isn't finished yet.
"I'm never going to waver," Muhammad said. "I'm never going to go up or down, just stay even keeled and try to do what I do every single day."
Muhammad will have a chance to build upon his strong start to the preseason when the Jaguars host the Carolina Panthers for their second preseason matchup on Friday.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Jaguars CB Jabbar Muhammad makes game-winning stop, eyes roster spot
