Following James Robinson Trade, Jaguars Will Need a More Mistake-Free Travis Etienne

Travis Etienne has ben one of the brightest spots of the Jaguars roster this year, but can he cut down on the negative plays in an expanded role?

It is now the Travis Etienne show in Jacksonville's backfield. 

There is no questioning Etienne's talent after three consecutive games with 100+ yards from scrimmage, including his first 100-yard rushing day and touchdown in Week 7. 

The real question is, can he avoid enough mistakes to make the Jaguars forget about the relatively mistake-prone James Robinson?

To date, Etienne has been Jacksonville's most explosive skill player, but also maybe their most mistake-prone. There was a fumble and a dropped fourth-down pass in Week 1 that has carried over into Week 7, where Etienne fumbled at the Giants' five-yard line. Later, slipped on a 3rd-and-15 screen on the final drive that looked like a major pickup if he had kept his feet. 

3rd-and-15 on the Jaguars' final drive. This could have been a wildly massive gain if Etienne doesn't slip pic.twitter.com/sG3jlIrTbr

— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) October 26, 2022

"I definitely feel like I could have played much better. I feel like I left a lot of plays out there. So it really puts a damper on that," Etienne said in the locker room on Sunday. "And now really just ready for next week to try to right my wrongs."

Etienne has done a lot right in his first seven games as a Jaguar after a Linsfranc injury last season. But he has always been the bizzaro Robinson; the two complimented each other perfectly. Where Etienne presented massive highs and also some staggering lows, Robinson was a steady hand, losing three fumbles in 574 touches in 2.5 seasons with the Jaguars.

"I was stumbling, and my knee hit the ball. Because I was trying to get my balance and then I just hit the ball, just an unfortunate situation, in a bad position to where I just have to realize I'm in a red zone," Etienne said on Sunday. "I'm stumbling, just put two hands on the ball and go to the ground."

But after Monday's trade that sent Robinson to the New York Jets for a conditional sixth-round pick (that will become a fifth-round pick sooner than later), the Jaguars have made it clear the backfield is Etienne's. 

Etienne has earned it over the last three games, totaling 341 yards from scrimmage over the last three weeks, with 271 yards rushing yards (7.97 yards per carry) and a touchdown. But for a Jaguars team that is 0-5 in one-score games in 2022 and has no margin of error, rolling the dice on Etienne as the every-down back is a gamble no matter how it is sliced.

With that said, Etienne did show the ability to bounce back from a mistake. He got a carry on the first-play of the second half following his fumble, taking it 49 yards to the Giants' 24-yard line to set up the Jaguars' second touchdown of the game.

"Doug believes in everybody in this in his locker room, and we're professionals, it's all about the next play, we all miss some, we all have that bad play," Etienne said. "But it was really great to see him come right back to me and me be able to make a big play for the team and kind of just help myself from a confidence standpoint."

Etienne has created the vast majority of the Jaguars' chunk plays this season. Without him, they have few other skill players who can strike fear in a defense. But with a vacancy in the backfield following the Robinson trade, Etienne will have to ensure he can clean up the small mistakes that has helped contribute to the Jaguars' unlucky 2-5 record.

"No one wants to lose, we come here and bust our asses each and every day. We're so close, yet so far. You don't play this game to lose, that is the reality of the situation. I feel like this one's on me. I have to be better for my teammates," Etienne said.

"A couple plays I could have made and maybe put us in a better position to win the game. So I feel like it isn't an overnight job, it is not going to just happen overnight. But us as players, we've got to just buy in. I feel like there's definitely games that we could have won this year that we didn't."