Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s season-opener against the Dolphins, Jaguars running back Travis Etienne looked like he was going to put the team up 24-7 when he took a handoff from Trevor Lawrence deep in Miami territory.
But safety Jevon Holland had other plans, punching the ball out of Etienne’s arm before he crossed the goal line. The Dolphins recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback and Miami’s comeback was on, with the club eventually defeating Jacksonville 20-17.
In his Wednesday press conference, quarterback Trevor Lawrence — who was also Etienne’s college teammate at Clemson — told reporters that the running back would be just fine.
“I mean, he’s just the same guy every day,” Lawrence said. “He doesn’t get too high or too low. That’s something I love about him.
“I think he’s going to respond great. He always has. Like you said, shoot, we’ve played together for, this is Year 7, I guess? Year 7 together. So, of course, with both of us, we’ve seen each other both have some plays that we want back. I think we both have a lot of confidence in one another to bounce back and you know what you’re going to get out of him. So, yeah, I’m excited for him.”
Etienne rushed for 44 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown and caught two passes for 15 yards in Week 1. We’ll see how the Jaguars divide the running back reps against Cleveland this week, as Tank Bigsby posted 73 yards on 12 carries versus Miami.
