Jaguars 27, Raiders 20: 5 Observations on Travis Etienne, Trevor Lawrence and More

What did this week's win over the Raiders mean for the Jaguars and Travis Etienne?

Sunday was a long time coming for the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

After an October filled with five close losses and self-inflicted scars, the Jaguars finally got over the hump in Week 9 with a 27-20 comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders, with the Jaguars battling back from an early 17-0 deficit. 

"Huge. We're just looking for one more point, right? We're just looking for guys to make plays," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. "We're just looking for opportunities, and I think all of that came through today in this game, and this is a great team win."

So, what does the win mean for the Jaguars and what did we learn during it? We break it all down below. 

Travis Etienne continues to standout, even in games without the giant run

After weeks of hitting runs of at least 30 yards consistently, Jaguars running back Travis Etienne had a different kind of impressive performance against the Raiders. Instead of hitting runs around the edge to flip the field, the Jaguars saw Etienne consistently get gains of five, six and seven yards to move the chains and keep the Jaguars in positive situations. Sans a few outside run plays that resulted in a loss of yards, we saw Etienne earn a ton of tough yards with good vision, elusiveness and physicality. 

The thing is, Etienne is only going to get better. This was just his ninth NFL game and fourth start. In every start, he has gained 100+ yards from scrimmage, coming just 4 yards away from gaining 100 yards rushing in every outing. While he wasn't overly efficient this week in terms of production, Etienne made the tough runs and turned nothing into something over and over again on Sunday. The Jaguars have a special running back on their hands.

Trevor Lawrence's development needed this win 

It was interesting to hear both Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence more or less say how badly the Jaguars needed to find a win this week. The golden rule in the NFL is to treat every game the same, but the Jaguars knew that at 2-6 and in a five-game losing streak that they needed a win to earn back some confidence and morale. And more importantly, they needed a win to accompany a good performance from Lawrence, who turned the ball over twice in critical situations in Week 8 against the Broncos. 

The Jaguars got the win and the Lawrence performance on Sunday. After four of the last five weeks saw Lawrence complete fewer than 60% of his passes and complete just one game with a passer rating of over 85, the bad stretch was definitely making an impact on Lawrence's production and overall trajectory. But Lawrence bounced-back with one of the best games of his career considering the difficulty of some of the throws he made and for his decision-making on third-downs. The Jaguars and Lawrence needed a win to feel like things were pointing in the right direction, and they each got it. 

Dawuane Smoot has become an impact player 

There isn't a better development story by the Jaguars than Dawuane Smoot. Drafted in the third-round in the 2017 NFL Draft, Smoot didn't record a sack in his first two seasons as a rotational lineman for a stacked Jaguars' defensive line. But he now has five sacks or more in every season since 2019, recording 22.5 sacks in 57 games while only starting 17 of them. And he now leads the Jaguars in sacks this year with five after two sacks on Sunday, all while playing just 37% of the snaps for the Jaguars. 

With 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and five quarterback hits over the last two weeks on 50 snaps, Smoot has turned into a impact player for the Jaguars' defense as of late. With Smoot set to be a free-agent in March, the Jaguars would be wise to keep him around considering his production and versatility. For a look at how consistent he has been, here are the 10 pass-rushers with at least five sacks in each of the last four seasons

• Smoot
• DeForest Buckner
• Brian Burns
• Maxx Crosby
• Aaron Donald
• Myles Garrett
• Chris Jones
• Cameron Jordan
• Mutt Judon
• Khalil Mack

Could this be a turnaround weekend out of the AFC South cellar? 

The Jaguars looked dead in the water in the AFC South after their five-game losing streak saw them drop divisional games to the Texans and Colts. But they got considerably lucky in Week 9 as they not only snapped their losing streak but were also the only AFC South team to win, with with Texans losing to the Eagles, the Colts to the Patriots and the Titans to the Chiefs. 

Now, the Jaguars are still two games out of any playoff contention since there are nine AFC teams with at least five wins. The Jaguars aren't in any contention talk right now, but they are at least out of the cellar and with some breathing room. Things aren't easy in the next few weeks with the Chiefs and Ravens on the docket, but the Jaguars ran out of games they could afford to lose. They needed this one to keep the conversation on 2022. 

The thought of adding Calvin Ridley to Doug Pederson's scheme is a scary one

The Jaguars' passing game has had some impressive moments throughout seemingly each game this season, especially before the red-zone. It makes sense why considering they have a scheme that is able to create mismatches and layups for the passing game while also having an improved pass-catching group. This showed up on Sunday, too, with the Jaguars both out-coaching the Raiders and out-playing them on offense.

The scary thing is, the Jaguars will still be getting a considerable talent boost in the offense in 2023 with new wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The simple idea of adding Ridley's speed and deep ability to this Jaguars' offense and scheme alongside Christian Kirk and Trevor Lawrence. This offense can get the intermediate plays and tough shots to the sidelines to move the chains. Add a seperator with deep speed? Then they are really, really dangerous.

Photo: Alex Shepherd