Hard to be happy: Travis Etienne said reaching NFL milestones meaningless without a win
Travis Etienne realized two career milestones on Sunday against the New York Giants.
Too bad he couldn’t truly enjoy them.
The Jaguars running back, who missed his rookie season last year with a foot injury, scored his first NFL touchdown and posted his first 100-yard game in the 23-17 loss at TIAA Bank Field in front of a vocal mix of 65,664 Jaguars and Giants fans.
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Etienne gained a Jaguars’ season-high 114 yards on 14 carries (8.1 per attempt), caught a pass for 5 yards and scored on a 7-yard run to open the Jags’ scoring for the day.
He also had a 49-yard burst on the first play of the second half, the key gain on a 73-yard scoring drive that ended with Trevor Lawrence’s 1-yard sneak for a touchdown to give the Jags a 17-13 lead.
“Definitely not,” he said when asked if he would be able to enjoy his best individual performance as a pro. “I feel I could have played much better. I felt like I left a lot of plays on the field. It really puts a damper on that. I play the game to win. The only stat I worry about is the win.”
Etienne holds the NCAA record for scoring touchdowns in 46 games (out of 55 he played) and has the ACC record for total career touchdowns with 78.
But because of his injury last season and the way the games unfolded this season, the first-quarter visit to the end zone was his first in 660 days, going back to Jan. 1, 2021 when he scored in a College Football Playoff game against Ohio State.
Knee caused his fumble
And one of the plays Etienne “left on the field,” came in the second quarter, when he coughed up his first fumble of the season after a 12-yard gain to the Giants’ 5-yard line, with the end zone in his sights.
New York safety Xavier McKinney tackled Etienne from behind and in his efforts to break the tackle, Etienne said he knocked the ball out of his hands with his knee.
The other safety on the field at the time, Julian Love, recovered the ball in the end zone and the Giants then moved downfield for a Graham Gano field goal in the final 3:26 for a 13-11 halftime lead.
The play called to mind Etienne’s drop of a pass from Lawrence on a fourth-and-three at Washington’s 3 in the second quarter of the opening game. Etienne had clear sailing to the end zone has he caught it.
“[Going to] the end zone, as a football player, your eyes just get so wide,” he said. “That’s where you want to be and you’ve got to quiet your mind and think about the next play and think about what’s best for the team.”
Etienne thankful for confidence boosts
Etienne said his confidence won’t lapse, and credited veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., and Jaguars coach Doug Pederson for two different gestures.
Jones counseled Etienne about ball security after the game but also told him to move on.
“He was telling me that it’s a sprint, not a marathon,” he said. “Letting me know, just never stop believing in yourself.”
Etienne said he was grateful that Pederson started him in the second half and then handed him the ball on the first play.
“They’ll believe in everybody in this locker room,” Etienne said of Pederson and the coaching staff. “We all mess up. We all have that bad play but it was really great to see him come back to me and me be able to make a big play for the team … helped myself from a company standpoint, to keep going.”
Pederson said Etienne "played well, played tough, physical."
But he also said he doesn't need to dwell on the fumble.
"Obviously, he can't do that. He knows that," Pederson said. "It's something we work on each week in practice Thursday."
Etienne also has the continued confidence of other teammates.
“It’s a pleasure blocking for him,” said guard Tyler Shatley.
What about James Robinson?
Etienne’s 100-yard game, the second from a Jaguar player this season (they had only one all of last year, a 149-yard game from James Robinson) also gave him the team lead in rushing with 415 yards.
However, that also was because Robinson didn’t get a single carry, and was targeted once in the passing game. It was the first time Robinson has suited up for a game in college or the NFL and did not have a carry or pass reception.
Robinson was thrown back to a 2-yard loss on the drive on which Etienne fumbled, but tight end Chris Manhertz was flagged for unnecessary roughness and the Giants took the penalty.
Pederson seemed to indicate after the game that Robinson wasn’t 100 percent.
"Something we have to evaluate him and see where he is at physically health-wise and all of that," Pederson said. "[Robinson] has been good each week and something that we've got to really take a look at and see."
On Monday, Pederson said Robinson has some “lower body” issues, specifically knee soreness.
However, Robinson didn’t say anything about being injured in a brief exchange at his locker as he was dressing.
When asked if he was disappointed at his lack of touches, Robinson replied sarcastically, “no, I’m very happy.”
When pressed for an answer, Robinson said, “You gotta talk to them,” referring to the coaching staff. “I went there every week. I went about my day. It’s how it came out. I don’t know.”
Robinson has not been listed on an injury report this season.
Riding the hot player
Pederson also said he's going with a player on a hot streak in Etienne, who has 341 yards from scrimmage in his last three games.
We know T.J. [Travis Etienne, Jr.] has done a nice job kind of taking over there, but we need everybody," Pederson said. "We need James, and we've got a lot of confidence in James still. It's not anything about lack of confidence or anything. We just have to make sure he is 100 percent before we move forward."
Pederson said, "I'll get with [Jeff Ferguson, vice-president of player health and performance] and give you a heads-up, [Monday] probably."
Robinson has averaged 17.0 carries in the first three games but has 7.5 in the last four. Etienne, in the meantime, has averaged 10.5 attempts over the last four games.
Other position players get carries from scrimmage in Pederson's offense. Wide receivers Christan Kirk, Jamal Agnew and Zay Jones; and tight end Evan Engram, have been used in the running game.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne gets first touchdown, first 100-yard game
