Tag: Travis Etienne Jr

Doug Pederson on Jags’ running game in 2024: ‘We have to get Tank going, bottom line’

Doug Pederson says Tank Bigsby is “too good” to not be on the field more for the Jaguars.

Earlier in the offseason, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said he wants to “knock the reps down” for Travis Etienne Jr. after the running back finished third in the NFL in touches. The solution sounds like it’ll be a lot more opportunities for 2023 third-round pick Tank Bigsby.

“We have to get Tank going, bottom line,” Pederson said in March. “He is too good — that’s why we drafted him. I think early he had some ‘what is that?’-type plays for whatever reason, right or wrong. Again, in and out of the lineup. He is a young player that we’re excited about. Like we talked about last year, we take some burden off of Etienne a little bit, keep him healthy for the remainder of the season.”

Bigsby had seven carries and one passing target in the Jaguars’ Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts. But a mental error by the rookie in his debut resulted in a fumble that was returned for a go-ahead touchdown by the Colts, forcing the Jaguars to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback.

After that, Bigsby had no more than three rushing attempts in the Jaguars’ next eight games. That stretch included another fumble in Jacksonville’s October game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and an interception that bounced off Bigsby’s hands against the San Francisco 49ers.

By the end of the year, Bigsby had 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 50 attempts.

So far in the 2024 offseason, the Jaguars haven’t done anything to change up their running backs room. They brought back D’Ernest Johnson on another one-year deal and didn’t acquire any additional talent at the position. While there’s still a chance the Jaguars will add a back in the 2024 NFL draft, it sure looks like Jacksonville is planning big things for Bigsby.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Wait, Travis Etienne got an Offensive Player of the Year vote?

Social media was pretty baffled when they learned Travis Etienne got a vote for Offensive Player of the Year.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. had a pretty solid 2023 season.

While it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, Etienne eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and added 58 receptions for 476 yards. His 12 touchdowns were tied for the 11th most in the NFL.

But it’s hard to understand how his year managed to earn him a vote for NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Only eight players received votes with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey leading the way and earning the award. Down at the bottom of the results was Etienne, who received a third-place vote.

Even the most diehard Jaguars fans were left scratching their heads a bit by the result. Here’s a sampling of the reaction on Twitter to Etienne getting a third-place vote:

Top 15 plays of the Jaguars’ 2023 season

The Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs like they hoped, but they still made several impressive plays en route to a winning record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs as fans hoped and most expected.

Instead of defending their AFC South title from the season prior, the team lost five of its last six to stumble to a 9-8 finish. That wasn’t enough to beat out the Houston Texans for the division crown and didn’t earn them a wild card berth either.

While the ho-hum ending to the year left a sour taste, Jacksonville’s talented roster still turned out a few impressive plays en route to a winning record in the 2023 season.

Here are the Jaguars’ top 15 plays of the season:

Travis Etienne Jr. seemingly reacts to 2024 Pro Bowl snub

Travis Etienne Jr. is taking his Pro Bowl snub personally.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a couple players named to the 2024 Pro Bowl Games roster, but there are a handful of the team’s players who have a right to feel snubbed.

Among the Jaguars players who had a strong case for inclusion was Travis Etienne Jr.

The third-year running back is fourth among all NFL running backs and second among AFC backs in total yards from scrimmage. He’s also tied for fifth at the position — third in the AFC — in total touchdowns.

Yet it was Raheem Mostert of the Miami Dolphins, James Cook of the Buffalo Bills, and Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans who were announced as the AFC’s representatives at running back.

A few hours after the announcement, Etienne seemingly reacted to the news with a post on social media:

It isn’t surprising that Mostert, who has 21 touchdowns, and Cook, who has 1,515 yards from scrimmage, received the honors. The head-scratcher is Henry, who has 1,228 total yards and 11 touchdowns. Etienne has 1,397 yards and 12 touchdowns heading into the final week of the year.

There’s still a chance Etienne could climb into the mix due to injuries or the Dolphins or Ravens making it to the Super Bowl. If Jacksonville goes on a run and wins the AFC Championship, Etienne wouldn’t be able to participate in the Pro Bowl Games anyway.

Still, the Jaguars running back has good reason to be taking the Wednesday announcement personally.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

5 Jaguars who were 2024 Pro Bowl Games snubs

Two Jaguars players earned Pro Bowl nods, but there are a few more players who should’ve joined them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had just two players on the list of 88 who earned 2024 Pro Bowl honors: outside linebacker Josh Allen and long snapper Ross Matiscik.

There’s still a chance that other Jacksonville players will eventually join that duo. Last year, zero Jaguars earned Pro Bowl honors on the initial roster announcements, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence and return specialist Jamal Agnew after injuries and the Super Bowl opened up more spots.

Ideally for the Jaguars, they’d have zero players participating in February and the team would instead be preparing for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

Until then or a time when more Jaguars are added to the rosters, here are xxx players who didn’t deserve to be left out Wednesday:

6 Jaguars finish top 10 in fan voting for 2024 Pro Bowl Games

Hours ahead of the rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games being announced, the NFL released the list of players who got the most fan votes.

The rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games will be announced Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Ahead of the announcement, the NFL released the list of the players who received the most votes from fans and it included six members of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fan voting accounts for a third of the calculation for Pro Bowl nods with votes from players and coaches accounting for the other two-thirds.

So although the fan vote results don’t necessarily mean a player will earn a spot in the Pro Bowl Games, it’s a great start. With the roster announcements just hours away, here are the six Jaguars player who finished top 10 at their position in fan votes:

Jaguars glad to have Cam Robinson back: ‘He just has an aura about him’

The Jaguars improved to 7-1 in games with Cam Robinson in the lineup.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are now 7-1 with Cam Robinson in the lineup after getting a 26-0 win Sunday in the offensive tackle’s first game back from injured reserve.

Robinson, 28, missed the first four games of the year because of a suspension and then missed another four in the latter half of the year when a knee injury sent him to IR. His return Sunday ended a little early with an ejection, but that wasn’t necessarily the worst thing. It’s that kind of energy and fire that the Jaguars seem to miss when Robinson isn’t playing.

“That was awesome, I was happy for that,” Jaguars tight end Evan Engram said of the ejection. “I don’t know if he might get fined or something for that, but it’s good to have him back. He’s just a difference-maker for us. His energy is contagious in that room.”

It also doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Travis Etienne Jr. finally had his second game of the year over 100 yards rushing. Etienne scored two touchdowns, and the Jaguars finished the day with 155 total rushing yards.

“He just has an aura about him, and it kind of feeds off to the other guys,” Etienne said of Robinson. “He just means so much to the offensive line, to the team, to all of us. I feel when he is out, it’s definitely noticed.”

Prior to the season, it seemed almost inevitable that the 2023 season would be Robinson’s last in Jacksonville. With Anton Harrison taking over at right tackle and Walker Little waiting in the wings at left tackle, would the Jaguars really pass on the $17.75 million in 2024 cap savings they could get by releasing Robinson?

Now it seems the Jaguars can’t afford not to have the veteran offensive lineman on the roster.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Studs and duds in the Jaguars’ 26-0 win vs. Panthers in Week 17

Not much went wrong for the Jaguars in a dominant, 26-0 win against the Panthers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Week 17 in desperate need of a win after four straight wins in December backed the team into a corner. Their 26-0 blowout of the Carolina Panthers was just what the doctor ordered.

With Trevor Lawrence sidelined for the first time in his career, the Jaguars finally got their run game going to help C.J. Beathard lead the team down the field. Even more impressive was a dominant defensive performance from Jacksonville.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young managed only 112 passing yards, threw one interception, and was sacked six times by the Jaguars pass rush.

While the Jaguars didn’t do a ton in the red zone, just about everything went right for the team in its final home game of the regular season. Here are the many studs and the few duds from Jacksonville’s dominant Week 17 showing:

Jaguars vs. Panthers recap: Jacksonville ends skid with 26-0 blowout

The Jaguars ended their December skid with a much-needed blowout win against the Panthers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally got a December win, breezing through the Carolina Panthers in a 19-0 blowout in Week 17.

With Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, and Zay Jones all out of action, the Jaguars still did more than enough to put the disastrous Carolina offense out of reach. C.J. Beathard didn’t finish with any touchdown passes, but avoided turnovers and led the Jaguars into range for four Brandon McManus field goals.

Running back Travis Etienne Jr. scored the only two touchdowns of the day when he broke free for a 62-yard score and bulldozed his way to a 1-yard touchdown late.

The Jaguars defense were the heroes of the day, though. After the Panthers managed 44 yards on their opening drive before turning the ball over on downs, Jacksonville forced a three-and-out on six consecutive Carolina drives. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Panthers finally got back across the 50-yard line.

Here’s how the Jaguars’ dominant Week 17 win at EverBank Stadium went down:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. Panthers in Week 17

Who needs to step up most this Sunday to help end the Jaguars’ skid?

This week’s game might be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ most important game of the season so far. And it’s against the Carolina Panthers.

Four weeks ago, the Jaguars were in contention for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. Now, they’re sitting just over .500 and barely holding onto the AFC South lead.

Jacksonville had a golden opportunity to put some space between itself and Indianapolis and Houston, but a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the team’s Week 17 game against Carolina even more important.

According to NFL.com, a win against the Panthers would give the Jaguars an 81 percent chance at making the playoffs. A loss would drop that number all the way to 38 percent.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch against the Panthers in Week 17: