The Jacksonville Jaguars ran the ball just 18 times against the Washington Commanders compared to 42 pass attempts made by second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
After the game, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was asked about that imbalance and gave an answer that only made the pass-heavy attack even more confusing.
“What was our yard per average rushing the ball? You do what works,” Pederson said. “I mean you just do what works you know both honestly. The game came down to critical errors by us and you know stuff we got to fix.”
To answer Pederson’s question: the Jaguars averaged a whopping 6.8 yards per carry. Running back James Robinson plowed ahead for 66 yards and a touchdown on his 11 carries. Travis Etienne exploded for 47 yards on only four rushing attempts. Even Jamal Agnew found six yards on his sole carry of the game.
And yet, the Jaguars passed the ball. And passed and passed and passed on Sunday, often keeping the ball out of the hands of Robinson and Etienne despite their success.
Up next, the Jaguars will play an Indianapolis Colts team that forced the second most turnovers in the NFL a year ago and was 21st in rushing yards allowed per attempt. Jacksonville would be wise to lean on Robinson and Etienne against Indianapolis rather than heap the load on the shoulders of Lawrence again.
