Travis Etienne is at the bottom of the list of Jacksonville Jaguars players who deserve to be blamed for the team’s 34-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He and the rest of the Jaguars ground game combined for 243 yards, and Etienne accounted for 108 yards on only 12 touches.
Still, Etienne told reporters after the game that he deserved some of the blame. He specifically highlighted his 48-yard gain on the Jaguars’ third offensive play as a missed opportunity.
“I just feel like I have to back to the drawing board because I feel like instead of looking to see what we could have done better, I’ve got to look myself in the mirror,” Etienne told reporters in the locker room, via Mia O’Brien of 1010XL. “I feel like on that first play, I should have scored that. There’s no way I shouldn’t have scored that and that’s why I gotta just go back to the drawing board.”
Etienne, 23, had just one player to beat on the play, but he was tracked down by Colts rookie safety Rodney Thomas II. The tackle proved to be a consequential one as the Jaguars only gained one yard on the next two plays before Trevor Lawrence was sacked on third down. The 14-yard loss on the sack knocked the Jaguars out of field goal position.
Still, a 22-yard gain for Etienne later in the first quarter put the Jaguars in the red zone and set up the team’s first touchdown of the day. Etienne also had a 27-yard gain on the Jaguars’ first play of the second half to jump start a drive that ended with another touchdown.
Regardless if Etienne had a chance to take his first big gain to the house, it was the Jaguars defense that was the reason the team fell to 2-4.