Travis Etienne Jr. was easily the Jacksonville Jaguars’ top performer Sunday against the Houston Texans, finishing with 88 rushing and 50 receiving yards. But after a 37-17 blowout loss, the running back wasn’t in the mood to celebrate his day.
“How I look at it, I have to find a way to help the team get better and continue to make plays for my team so to be in a better position to win the game,” Etienne said in the locker room after the loss. “I fault myself. We fault ourselves.”
Buy Jaguars TicketsAfter a week of players and coaches harping on the poor execution that doomed the Jaguars in Week 2, the offense continued to trip over its own feet — sometimes literally — against the Texans. To solve the prevailing issue, Etienne says Jaguars players have to do some soul searching.
“We have to find ways to get better,” Etienne said. “We don’t look really good right now. We have to own that. We just have to own that right now, watch the film and put it to bed.
“I feel like every man in this room needs to look at himself in the mirror and watch that film and just be critical. Be their biggest critic. We just have to find ways to get better. We just have to find ways to play harder.”
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who finished with one touchdown and one interception in the loss, preached a similar message.
“I expect the coaches to hold me accountable and they will,” Lawrence said in a postgame press conference. “And I’m going to hold the wide-outs, tight ends, the running backs, the o-line accountable, as well, for stuff that, you know, they’re not doing the best in their job. No one can get their feelings hurt. We don’t have guys that do, but we all have to have that accountability.”
The Jaguars offense turned the ball over twice, dropped a few passes, and picked up six penalties during another performance defined by miscues.
