Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne isn’t trying to keep the gameplan for Sunday under wraps. In his mind, it’s simple: the Jaguars will control the game by running the ball.
“What [the Indianapolis Colts] do well is create turnovers,” Etienne told J.P. Shadrick of Jaguars.com in an interview Thursday. “So we just have to go in there and take care of the ball. … We want to dominate the line of scrimmage and just run the ball.
“I feel like we’re going to run it. We want to the ball, create the line of scrimmage, and just play … be third-and-short. Not so many third-and-longs and I feel like we’ll be right where we need to be.”
The Colts finished the 2021 season with 33 takeaways, second most in the NFL. Last week, the Indianapolis defense forced one turnover when linebacker E.J. Speed stripped Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills on a sack in the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville started its season with a 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders, and ran the ball just 18 times with Trevor Lawrence attempting 42 passes. The Jaguars converted just three of 12 third downs, while Washington converted seven of its 10.
Etienne, who missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, finished his NFL debut with 47 rushing yards on only four carries along with two receptions for 18 yards.