Do the Jaguars Have A New No. 1 RB?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have struck gold with another dominant running back who exploded for a career day against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (4) rushes for yards during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars edged the Colts on a field goal 37-34. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) have found something special in second-year running back Tank Bigsby. A career-high day of 101 rushing yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns, led the Jaguars to its first win of the season, snapping an 0-4 skid to begin the year.

It begs the question for the Jaguars offense, has Bigsby shown enough to either become the feature running back or evenly split carries with No. 1 RB, Travis Etienne?

Just like his first name, Tank is a force to be reckoned with in the trenches and refuses to slow his feet down when running through contact. Jaws were on the floor watching the former Auburn Tiger barrel through four defenders en route to a 19-yard house call, his first touchdown of the season.

Tank Bigsby. Holy smokes. pic.twitter.com/qLtswklhFR

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 6, 2024

Through 17 games in his rookie year, Bigsby was given just 50 carries for a total of 132 yards. Through five games in his sophomore season, he has been given the ball 34 times and has already doubled his rushing total from a season ago with 273 yards on the ground.

Bigsby showed his ability to not only run over defenders, but run past them as well. In the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, the 22-year old changed direction in the backfield, sifted between another six defenders, and accelerated for a 65-yard touchdown, the longest run of his young professional career.

TANK BIGSBY STIFF ARMS HIS WAY TO A 65-YARD TD.

📺: #INDvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/oVugPI0X5s

— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

In Sunday's win over the Colts, the Jaguars ran the ball 23 times and 13 of those carries went to Bigsby. Six of them went to Etienne, who was only able to generate 17 rush yards.

Offensive scheme and sticking with what worked surely played a role in Etienne's lack of involvement. That is not to say he is not a Pro-Bowl caliber rusher and Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson acknowledged that after the win.

“No. Travis [Etienne] is our guy. Tank had a good game.," Pederson said. "That's just the way games go. Happy for Tank. Great for the offensive line, obviously, in some of those situations there. Travis is our guy. Tank had a good game today, though.”

Pederson is not taking anything away from the performance that Bigsby had, just accentuating the point that trust in Etienne will be maintained and his opportunities will stay consistent over the next several weeks.

Etienne might be off to a slower start, but it cannot be forgetten that he rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons with 18 career touchdowns. It might just be a two-headed monster in the Jaguars backfield from here on out.

The Jaguars will fly overseas for their next contest as they battle the Chicago Bears (3-2) in the NFL's Week 6 London Game next Sunday. It will be intriguing to see how both Etienne and Bigsby respond after polar opposite games this past Sunday.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.