Jaguars Continue to Fall Short in Vital Area on Offense

Injuries and poor play have derailed the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense. They look to turn things around against the Houston Texans.

Nov 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr (1) runs the ball after the catch agains the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Even with all of the losing that has happened, the Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the best rushing attacks in the entire National Football League earlier this season. Running backs Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne Jr. combined to make arguably the best running back duo in NFL.

However, injuries depleted the Jaguars on both sides of the ball, including at the running back position. The injuries caused Jacksonville's running game to falter and what was once a strength has become a weakness.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson noted that both running backs are now healthy and ready for the remaining games.

“Yeah, both guys are real healthy, which is great,” Pederson said. “But yeah, there was some—the inconsistency of one guy up and one guy banged up and then kind of flipped and just getting that continuity in that room. But it's good to have both guys where they are right now. It does give us a lift health-wise in that room and obviously can give us a boost in the run game.”

Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor noted that while health has undoubtedly been an issue, running the ball is a difficult task in the NFL.

“I mean, it's hard to run the ball,” Taylor said. “I think it's just because it's coordination of 11 people a lot of times. It's different sometimes than throwing the ball where maybe I get one guy in space, and I get it ability to get the ball of out of our hand to make a play, where 11 guys getting synced up has just been tough. But also, game situations have been tough. 

“You get behind in a game. It's harder to stick with runs or if you're three-and-out. It's hard to continue to try to run the ball because you don't get that rhythm of it. Sometimes it's just calling runs. I’ve got to do better to have calling more runs for us, giving us those opportunities. But obviously, first and second-down efficiency gives you the opportunity to get more first-downs, more plays, and then you kind of let everybody get a lather going, get into certain situations that you really tried to maximize on Wednesday when you're putting in your first and second down plan.”

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