diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ module.exports = (opts = {}) => {
             if (!passthrough) {
                 const msg = debug ? e.message : 'Authentication Error';
                 ctx.throw(401, msg, { originalError: e });
+            }else{ 
+                //lets downstream middlewares handle JWT exceptions
+                ctx.state.jwtOriginalError = e;
             }
         }
error handling when passthrough is on

Let downstream middlewares handle verification exceptions