Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Jacksonville Jaguars have a losing record and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
There has been very little to cheer about for Jacksonville fans this season. Franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggled before being placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion, and running back Travis Etienne has posted the worst season of his career. The Jaguars have only been spared of the AFC South’s basement by the equally woeful Tennessee Titans, who they jumped with a 10-6 win on Sunday.
The one positive in Jacksonville’s season has been second-year running back Tank Bigsby, who has received inconsistent playing time this season but has made the most of his opportunities. He took his 18 carries for 55 yards in the win over the Titans, and is up to 602 yards and five scores on the season.
After a season that saw him finish eighth in Offensive Player of the Year voting, Etienne started off the 2024 campaign receiving the bulk of the playing time. However, he has yet to even rush for 70 yards in any game this season and his 4.9 yards per carry are the 13th-worst among qualified backs. He has not found paydirt since a loss to Cleveland in Week 2 and has clearly fallen out of favor in head coach Doug Pederson’s rotation.
Bigsby got his first major opportunity when Etienne missed two games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury, and he took full advantage, combining for 44 carries, 196 yards, and two scores across the two games. Since Etienne’s return, though, he’s slowly garnered more and more playing time and appeared in 31 snaps to Etienne’s 28 in the Jaguars’ most recent game. With Jacksonville having nothing to play for and Etienne no longer a factor in the team’s long-term plans, expect Bigsby to receive a bulk of the handoffs in Sunday’s contest against the equally awful New York Jets.
The Jets’ rushing defense has been challenged a lot, and while they have been good at holding running backs to minimal gains, they have been susceptible to giving up scoring plays. Opposing backs have rushed for 18 touchdowns against New York, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. Bigsby has a good chance of getting into the end zone on Sunday, given that he has received 53.1% of the Jaguars’ carries inside the red zone this season.
Given backup quarterback Mac Jones’ limited upside and a relatively stout Jets secondary that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 62% of their passes, Jacksonville will probably opt for a more conservative game plan on Sunday, which should benefit Bigsby. In Jones’ most recent start, he dropped back to pass on 55.1% of plays, slightly lower than the Jaguars’ season average of 59.3%.
Start or Sit: Start Tank Bigsby, sit Travis Etienne Jr.
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