JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — James Robinson and Travis Etienne bring different elements to the Jacksonville Jaguars backfield.
Robinson delivers power and consistency, while Etienne can blow by any defender on the field.
Both showed those attributes in the Week 1 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders as the duo rushed for 113 yards on 15 carries.
The Jaguars chose to throw the ball 42 times, an unbalanced attack that head coach Doug Pederson defended once again on Wednesday.
"When you look at the game and how it kind of unfolded, we had opportunities to hit those guys even in the passing game to make plays." Pederson said.
"First opening drive of the game, we just missed Travis in the end zone. Missed him on a fourth down. Those are touches. Those are opportunities to put the ball in their hands. I’m a believer, too, that you throw to score in this league, and you run to win. We did some things, put ourselves in position to score at least 17 in the first half.”
Pederson did say the coaching staff keeps track of the run to pass ratio during the game and that he may potentially run the ball more in the red zone where the Jaguars went 2-5 against the Commanders.
As for Etienne and Robinson, the duo trust Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor will put them in the right position to succeed.
"I'm sure we want to establish the run first and they do too but whatever can get the job done is what we're going to do." Robinson said.
"And we were definitely in position to win the game we just got to make the plays when they're called so I feel like the coaches did a great job and all we can do is do what the coaches called and they do a great job of putting us in positions to win." Etienne said.
Eliminating the Mistakes:
Miscommunication in the secondary, 13 penalties for 90 yards, and missed opportunities in the red zone all contributed to the Jacksonville Jaguars demise in Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Jaguars know they should be entering their Week 2 tilt at home against the Indianapolis Colts at 1-0 instead of 0-1.
"I can handle a loss if we get beat, right," Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "
"Both good games, it goes back and forth, comes down to the end, and you get beat. When you make the mistakes that we did, the amount of mistakes on both sides of the ball, it’s harder on your stomach. Listen, it’s Week 1. We’ve got a young football team that’s eager to get back on the practice field and correct a lot of those mistakes.”
Preparing for the Colts:
The Colts will also be looking for their first win of the year after a Week 1 tie against the Houston Texans.
Jacksonville has owned Indy at home winning the last six home matchups at TIAA Bank Field dating back to 2015.
But, the Jaguars aren't focusing on the past and know it's irrelevant when preparing for this Colts team that features a stout defense and dynamic running game that features Jonathan Taylor.
"Just watching that game (Texans game) and how they kind of got on track in the second half, that’s who they are." Pederson said.
"It’s just like on defense with Gus Bradley (Defensive Coordinator), it’s who they are. You know exactly where they’re going to be, and they do it extremely well. They run the ball extremely well, and they play defense well, so it’s a good test for our guys. You’ve got to stay disciplined with a group like this. We’ve got to be better up front, D-line, in our gaps against the run, and linebackers have to have vision, and you have to get your safeties and corners involved in tackling, and we’ve got to be better there because obviously we weren’t on Sunday.”