Jaguars RB Travis Etienne becoming NFL superstar

By Hays Carlyon

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has played with running back Travis Etienne for six years, dating back to their days at Clemson.

They’ve never connected on a touchdown pass like that – and what a time to hit it.

With the Jaguars struggling to avoid mistakes and find a rhythm, Lawrence threw a beautiful deep pass down the right sideline that Etienne caught for a 56-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Jacksonville’s 20-10 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The score gave the Jaguars a 17-3 lead after Etienne also ran in the two-point conversion.

Superstar stuff.

Etienne is developing into one of the best weapons in the NFL. The third-year veteran ran for 79 yards against the Steelers, while also gaining 70 through the air. The 149 yards of offense was the third-highest in the 24-year-old’s career.

The Jaguars really needed someone to make a play. Multiple trips deep into Pittsburgh territory had resulted in turnovers or field goals. A game that felt like the Jaguars had controlled, thanks largely to another fantastic defensive performance, was in doubt with the Jaguars up 9-3 into the third quarter.

The touchdown catch displayed Etienne’s continued evolution as a rare playmaker. He’s now given every Jaguars opponent something else to worry about.

The victory was so meaningful as well. The Jaguars are now 6-2, their best record since 1999. They’ve won five consecutive games, a first since the 2005 season. They are tied with Kansas City, Baltimore and Miami for best record in the AFC making home-field advantage a realistic goal as they head into their bye week.

The Jaguars are also distancing themselves from the rest of the AFC South in their attempt to repeat as champion. Houston and Tennessee trail at 3-4, while Indianapolis is 3-5. The Jaguars haven’t reached consecutive postseasons since 1998-99.

Etienne is a major reason why the Jaguars have enjoyed a perfect October. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson will have to try and find a way to keep Etienne fresh for the stretch run, but it’s hard to take him out of games.

Etienne has run for 583 yards this season, while gaining 266 receiving yards. That’s 849 yards of offense, which ranks fourth in the NFL behind Miami receiver Tyreek Hill, San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey and Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown.

Etienne has also scored eight touchdowns. He’s on pace to gain 1,804 yards of offense this season with 17 touchdowns. Those are All-Pro numbers.

Etienne missed his rookie season in 2021 with a Lisfranc foot injury suffered in the preseason. Last year, he got acclimated and had a successful season with 1,441 yards of offense (1,125 rushing) and five total touchdowns.

His improvement from good to great is one reason the Jaguars are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

It’s way too early to put Etienne among Jaguars legends Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, but it is exciting to see another potential franchise-changing back emerging.

(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).