Tag: Travis Etienne Jr

Travis Etienne: Trevor Lawrence ‘got that swagger back’ he had at Clemson

Travis Etienne says Trevor Lawrence is back to having the swagger he had at Clemson.

No Jacksonville Jaguars player has spent more time playing with quarterback Trevor Lawrence than running back Travis Etienne Jr.

Before the two were picked in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jaguars, they were teammates together for three seasons at Clemson. The duo won a national championship together in January 2019 and reached the College Football Playoff all three years.

All that collegiate success didn’t translate into an easy road in the pros for Lawrence and Etienne, though. Etienne missed the entire 2021 season due to a Lisfranc injury, while Lawrence led the NFL in interceptions. Earlier this season, he admitted that his rocky rookie year even shook his confidence, at times.

Plenty has changed since then. Lawrence has thrown 14 touchdowns and only one interceptions in his last six games.

“You see him out there just making plays, just being the playmaker and I just love that he’s got that swagger back about himself,” Etienne said on SiriusXM Radio. “I’m excited to see it continue to grow as he gets more comfortable in the offense, keeps learning the game, and keeps feeling the NFL out, he’s going to be something special.”

Etienne broke out of a slump Sunday with 103 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards against the Dallas Cowboys. On the year, he now has 917 rushing yards with 238 receiving yards and he’s on the verge of becoming the fifth player to record 1,000 rushing yards in a season with the Jaguars.

But more important than the emergence of Etienne this season has been the ascendence of Lawrence from prospect with potential to NFL superstar. The reclamation of his Clemson swagger has had a lot to do with that swift improvement.

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. Cowboys in Week 15

Which Jaguars players need to have big games Sunday to help spring the upset against the Cowboys?

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ playoff hopes are alive after a Week 14 win against the Tennessee Titans.

Standing in the way of the Jaguars increasing those chances are the 10-3 Dallas Cowboys, who are coming to Jacksonville for the first time in 16 years. While a loss wouldn’t completely end the Jaguars’ postseason dream, if it was coupled with a Titans win on Sunday, that’d just about do it.

So what do the Jaguars need to do to pull off the upset over one of the NFC’s top teams? It’d help if these five players showed up in a big way Sunday at TIAA Bank Field:

Travis Etienne has 2 reasons he’s glad Trevor Lawrence ad-libbed on TD run

Travis Etienne says he has a couple reasons why he wasn’t mad when Trevor Lawrence kept the ball and scored on his own Sunday.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. was supposed to get a carry on the one-yard line with a golden opportunity at his fifth touchdown of the season. Instead, quarterback Trevor Lawrence freelanced on the play and ran it in himself, much to the bewilderment of coach Doug Pederson.

Was Etienne bothered when the chance to score was taken away from him? Nope, not at all.

“Honestly, I feel like I was happy because I feel like as I’m going through my read, I’m going ‘Damn, nothing’s there,'” Etienne told 1010XL’s Mia O’Brien on Wednesday. “I might have to just bump my head and try to get in.”

In addition to Etienne saying he didn’t see a path to the end zone, the second-year back also said he was glad Lawrence’s touchdown happened because of what it could mean in the future.

“It was a great read, it worked out, and I feel like that’s going to help us moving forward in the future because now teams can’t crash the back side end. They have to be aware of Trevor’s feet, because he can beat you with his feet, and I feel like that’s going to open up a lot of things.”

Etienne is on a bit of a cold streak with only 134 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per carry in his last four games. That’s a significant step back from the five-game stretch earlier in the season when Etienne ran for 536 yards with 6.2 yards per carry and another 93 yards as a pass catcher.

The 23rd ranked rushing defense of the Dallas Cowboys could be present an opportunity for Etienne to get his season back on track. And perhaps, the threat of Lawrence running in a touchdown of his own will also help open up a little more space for Etienne.

5 studs and duds from the Jaguars’ 36-22 win vs. Titans

Four Jaguars players stood out most Sunday, while one had a game to forget.

The Jacksonville Jaguars started slow against the Tennessee Titans, then blew the doors off their AFC South rival in a 36-22 win.

It was the first win for the Jaguars in Nashville since 2013 and it kept slim postseason dreams alive for the team with four weeks left in the season.

There wasn’t much for Jaguars fans not to like about the win, except for maybe the defense’s slow start. But it settled in and Jacksonville dominated a significant stretch Sunday.

In the words of Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, “we got our ass kicked.”

Here are four Jaguars players who stood out most in the win, and one who didn’t: