Etienne Jr. Talks Rushing Attack the Day After Week 9 Overtime Win at Raiders: "You wear them down…"

Nov 03, 2025 at 06:46 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – They wanted to run, and run they did.

And while the offense can still improve, Head Coach Liam Coen on Monday afternoon made clear that how the Jaguars played offensively Sunday is a glimpse into what he wants moving forward.

They ran to win, and Coen would like to see that continue.

"That's definitely a recipe somewhat of success for us," he said.

Coen spoke a day after a 30-29 road overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, with the Jaguars moving to within a game and half of first place in the AFC South by remaining committed to the offensive style he has emphasized since taking over as the Jaguars' coach in January:

Physical, tough, dictating – and while the Jaguars struggled to control the game with that approach early, perseverance yielded benefits late.

"You wear them down through the course of the game," running back Travis Etienne Jr. said.

Etienne on Sunday led the Jaguars with 84 yards on 22 carries, and the Jaguars rushed for 151 yards on 42 carries – their most rushing yards since rushing for 151 in a Week 4 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Etienne rushed for 65 yards on 15 carries in the second half and overtime, with 115 of the Jaguars' rushing totals coming during that span.

"NFL competitors get paid a lot to do their jobs," Etienne said. "First half, first quarter … guys are energized, fired up and you kind of just wear them down throughout the game and we just kind of got rolling. Those 4-yard gains start to become 8. Those 8 start to become 10 and you've just got to stick with it.

"[Coen] did that Sunday and we were able to reap the benefits."

The Jaguars increasingly emphasized the run late with wide receiver Dyami Brown out with a concussion and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in and out of the game with an ankle injury. The Jaguars ran eight times for 35 fourth-quarter yards, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence scoring on a 7-yard run and rookie Bhayshul Tuten scoring on a 1-yard run. The last three plays before Tuten's touchdown were runs.

Lawrence passed once on the Jaguars' lone overtime possession, with the Jaguars running on the final eight plays of a drive that ended with Lawrence reaching the ball over the goal-line for a 1-yard touchdown and a 30-23 lead.

"We were able to kind of possess the line of scrimmage in some ways," Coen said. "We didn't really break any big ones, and there's definitely some meat left on the bone. Those runs that were 4-yard, 5-yard, 6-yard runs, we need to clean up a few things so we can make those 8-to-10-yard runs.

"But leaning on the run in overtime, I thought was obviously big. I was definitely proud of the guys up front, the runners. There's meat left on the bone still, but really proud of the way that they competed in the run game and fought their tails off."

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The Jaguars also on Sunday at least three times had Etienne take snaps in the "Wildcat" formation – which Coen said they practiced in recent weeks at the suggestion of passing-game coordinator Shane Waldron.

"It's getting the ball directly in Etienne's hands and let him go kind of do something with it," Coen said. "That was the thought process, was to make sure we got off more run attempts. We wanted to give them something maybe that they weren't prepared for, coming off the bye.

"It was definitely something that I think helped us at times."

Coen said injuries at tight end also prompted the Jaguars to use heavier sets Sunday, with offensive lineman Chuma Edoga eligible on the seven run plays leading to Lawrence's overtime touchdown.

"We definitely had a thought process of using the jumbo more," Coen said. "It was something we saw on tape we felt we could take advantage of with some of the tight end or the tackle wing position that we were utilizing.

"We looked at where we could use the jumbo as a little bit of a mismatch for us."