Tag: Travis Etienne Jr

Travis Etienne: I’m here to win games, I don’t care about the workload

Travis Etienne says it doesn’t matter if he gets two carries or 30 carries as long as the Jaguars win.

No player in the NFL has more touches through the first seven weeks of the season than the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne Jr.

Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said he wasn’t too worried about it and that the team will “continue to give the ball to our best players at all times.” Head coach Doug Pederson struck a slightly different chord, telling reporters that the team has “got to be mindful that we’re not overworking him.”

According to Etienne, it makes no difference.

“I’m here to win games, I don’t care about the workload,” Etienne said after practice Wednesday. “As long as we’re winning, I don’t care if I get two carries or 30. As long as we get the ‘W’ at the end of the day. I feel like that’s what I’m all about, that’s what I’m here for.”

Etienne, 24, averaged 12.9 carries and 2.1 receptions during his de facto rookie year in 2022 (he missed all of 2021 due to a Lisfranc injury). So far in 2023, he’s averaging 18.1 rushing attempts and 3.4 receptions.

While the sustainability of Etienne taking that many hits per game could be a concern, it’s not surprising that the running back isn’t among those thinking much about it. His philosophy in most things has been to worry about the present and allow the future to handle itself.

“I feel like the market is what the market is and for me, to go out there and get the best deal for myself, I have to come out here and work hard each and every day,” Etienne said in July when he was asked about the pay rate for NFL running backs.

“If I don’t produce or be productive, I’m not going to even be in that conversation or there won’t be anybody looking to pay me. The best thing I can do is keep my head down and keep working to win games for my football team.”

If Etienne scores at least two rushing touchdowns Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he’d become the first player since LaDainian Tomlinson in his record-breaking 2006 season to do it in four straight games.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Doug Pederson: ‘We’ve got to be mindful’ of Travis Etienne’s workload

Doug Pederson says the Jaguars have to get their other running backs more involved in the offense.

A few days after Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said Travis Etienne Jr hasn’t shown any signs he can’t handle his league-leading workload and the team will “continue to give the ball to our best players at all times,” head coach Doug Pederson delivered a different message Friday.

“Travis is a tough kid, we’ve seen that over the course of last year for the start of this year,” Pederson said. “We’ve got to be mindful that we’re not over working him, we’ve got to get Tank [Bigsby] and D’Ernest [Johnson] and if JaMycal [Hasty] is up, we’ve got to get those guys involved in the offense and get them some more touches.

“Right now, especially on third down, we like [Etienne] on third down, not only from a protection standpoint, but the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. We just got to keep the other guys coming. It’s not that we don’t have confidence in them, but we just feel like [Etienne] has the hot hand and we continue to keep him going. We’re definitely mindful of the wear-and-tear on his body as we go.”

Etienne, 24, has an NFL-most 151 touches (127 carries and 24 receptions) through the Jaguars’ first seven games. That’s 18 more than the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey and 19 more than Raiders’ Josh Jacobs who haven’t yet played in Week 7.

In Week 1, the Jaguars gave Bigsby seven carries and threw him the ball once. The rookie hasn’t had more than four touches in any of the Jaguars’ six games since. Johnson has only 10 touches this season and Hasty is still at zero.

Etienne has made the most of his increased workload, recording seven touchdowns in as many games, including six in the last three weeks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Social media reacts: Lawrence and Etienne lead the Jaguars to a Thursday night win over the Saints

Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne are on a roll as the Jaguars picked up another win.

Former Clemson stars Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne are off to an outstanding start to their season, as the two helped lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a big 31-24 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Dealing with a knee injury, Lawrence toughed it out and put together another strong performance. Completing 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, Lawrence added 59 yards on the ground, showing that a hurt knee wouldn’t slow him down.

In the run game, Etienne has been one of the best running backs in the NFL this season. While his 53 yards on the ground wasn’t a whole lot, he added two touchdowns and 24 yards receiving. He has been on a tear this season.

Here is a look at how Twitter/X reacted to another Jaguars win.

Jaguars not looking to lighten RB Travis Etienne Jr.’s workload

Travis Etienne Jr. leads the NFL in touches through the first six weeks.

No player in the NFL recorded more touches through the first six weeks of the season than Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr., who already has 113 rushing attempts and 21 receptions. Those numbers aren’t too concerning to offensive coordinator Press Taylor, though.

“He hasn’t shown us he can’t [handle it] at this point in time,” Taylor said Thursday. “Obviously, we like to spread the wealth and we like to continue with the hot hand, whatever that may be; pass game, run game.

“He’s been a guy that is obviously a gamebreaker for us. He’s been able to come through in those situations when we continue to give him the football. He has opportunities and he finds opportunities, he creates his own opportunities at times. We want to continue to give the ball to our best players at all times.”

Last season, in his de facto rookie year (Etienne missed all of 2021), the Jaguars running back averaged 12.9 rushing attempts and 2.1 receptions per game. With over a third of the season in the books, those averages are up to 18.8 carries and 3.5 receptions.

While Taylor says he’s unconcerned, it’s hard to imagine this is the backfield usage the Jaguars envisioned for the 2023 season when they used a third-round pick to add Tank Bigsby and scooped up D’Ernest Johnson in free agency earlier this year.

Bigsby, 22, had seven carries in Week 1, but made a couple crucial errors in his NFL debut and hasn’t had more than three carries in a game since. His shaky pass blocking hasn’t made him the most reliable player in third down situations, either. Johnson has just 10 touches so far this season.

Its been the Etienne show in the Jacksonville backfield early in the year and that doesn’t appear set to change any time soon.

Studs and duds in the Jaguars’ 37-20 win vs. Colts

The positives way out-weighed the negatives for the Jaguars in a 17-point victory Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 37-20 win against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6 had a few speed bumps, but was never really in doubt.

After a three-play span in the second quarter flipped a three-point deficit into a double-digit lead for the Jaguars, the Colts were never again within 11 points.

Indianapolis scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter thanks to some deep passing, and the Jaguars offense had some late miscues that made things dicier than it needed to be late. A knee injury for Trevor Lawrence in the final minutes left a sour taste too, even if it doesn’t appear serious.

Still, the positives out-weighed the negatives for Jacksonville in a one-sided drubbing of a divisional opponent. So the studs way out-number the duds in this week’s edition:

Etienne’s Mom is not a fan of South Carolina, roasting the Gamecocks on social media

Etienne’s mom ribs South Carolina after Florida takes down the Gamecocks.

There are a lot of fans out there who dislike the South Carolina Gamecocks, with the Etienne brother’s mother, Donnetta, being one of those people.

As the mother of one of Clemson’s all-time best running backs, Donnetta knows all about the Gamecocks and already wasn’t a fan of the program. With her youngest son Trevor, a running back for the Florida Gators, Donnetta took to Twitter/X to share that she now has multiple reasons to not like the Gamecocks.

During Florida’s 41-39 win over South Carolina, Etienne’s mother tweeted, “Now I have multiple reasons not to like the South Carolina Lame Cocks,” a solid jab at Clemson’s top rivals. During the win, Trevor rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and even completed a pass for a two-point conversion.

Social media reacts: Lawrence and Etienne ball in a big win over the Buffalo Bills in London

This former Clemson duo tore it up in London to take down one of the best teams in the NFL.

The Jacksonville Jaguars played their second game in a row in London on Sunday, with former star Tigers Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne leading their team to a 25-20 win over the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was a strong performance from Lawrence, who completed 25-of-37 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown. The young quarterback had a couple of bad turnovers but was poised when it mattered the most. 

His backfield partner, Travis Etienne, had one of the best games of his NFL career as he dominated the Bills’ defense. Etienne took a lofty 26 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns, adding four catches for 48 yards. The explosive running back broke off a 35-yard score with less than three minutes remaining in the game, sealing the Jaguars win.

It was a big win for the Jaguars and one where these two showed out. Here is a look at how Twitter/X reacted to their big win.

Studs and duds in Jaguars’ 25-20 win vs. Bills

Who stood out most in the Jaguars’ massive 25-20 win against the Bills?

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a massive win in London, beating the previously red-hot Buffalo Bills, 25-20.

While it was another game that saw Jacksonville making some crucial errors that wasted offensive opportunities, the Jaguars got points when they needed them late. Trevor Lawrence orchestrated 93- and 75-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to lead the Jaguars to a victory.

The Jaguars defense allowed only seven points through the first three quarters and kept a Bills offense that averaged 41 points in the last three weeks to less than half that total Sunday.

Ultimately, the positives vastly outweighed the negatives for the Jaguars in the upset win. Here’s who stood out most for Jacksonville:

Travis Etienne Jr. scored 2 touchdowns vs. himself in fantasy football

Travis Etienne tweeted that his two-touchdown day sank his chances at winning in fantasy football this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. had a huge game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, scoring two touchdowns and racking up 184 yards of total offense.

It was the kind of day fantasy football owners with Etienne in their lineup dream about. It’s also an absolute nightmare for their opponents. According to Etienne, he was part of the latter group Sunday.

Etienne’s pretty hilarious bad fantasy football luck turned out to be a just what the Jaguars needed Sunday.

While the third-year running back was bottled up for much of the day Sunday, he took over late with both of his touchdowns coming in the last eight minutes of the game. That included a 35-yarder with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter that all but put the game on ice.

The Jaguars would love it if Etienne continued to cook fantasy football owners playing against him, regardless if that includes Etienne or not.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Calvin Ridley says Trevor Lawrence audibled to clutch 32-yard pass

The massive third down conversion for Calvin Ridley late in the fourth quarter was a call made by Trevor Lawrence.

One of the biggest throws made by Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the team’s 25-20 win against the Buffalo Bills apparently wasn’t supposed to be a pass at all.

According to Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley, the team was set to run the ball on a third-and-4 late in the fourth quarter. But when Lawrence saw Ridley lined up one-on-one against Bills safety Micah Hyde, he changed the call at the line and lofted a ball down the right sideline for a 32-yard gain.

“They went [cover] zero, they put a safety on me,” Ridley told reporters after the game. “Honestly, I think we were running it, I think. But Trevor checked it, he seen the safety on me, he gave me a good check, and we made a big play.”

The massive third down conversion came shortly after the Bills cut the Jaguars’ lead from 11 points to five. If Jacksonville was forced to punt, Buffalo was going to have a few minutes to drive the field for a potential go-ahead touchdown.

Instead, the Jaguars moved the sticks and extended their lead two plays later with a 35-yard rushing touchdown for Travis Etienne Jr.

Ridley finished the game with seven receptions for a game-leading 122 yards.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]