Shutting down one of the best running backs in the NFL is not a new challenge to these 2023 Steelers, but this challenge coming up Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Jaguars will be a unique one because that running back has created more opportunities for a well-rounded explosive attack.
Perhaps quietly, Travis Etienne is having a dominant season. His 504 rushing yards are fourth and his seven rushing touchdowns are third in the NFL. The 24-year old has rushed for exactly two touchdowns and 4.2 yards per carry in each of his last three games.
The Jaguars have employed an explosive offense that has allowed for a four-game winning streak that began once the calendar flipped to October. That includes three wins in 11 days with two of those games being played in London. Etienne has been a major factor of that, and Teryl Austin and his Steelers defense will have to contain him if they want to limit a Jaguars offense that has averaged 29.0 points per game since the calendar flipped to October.
"You have to pick your poison," Austin said Thursday on the South Side. "They have enough speed and everything at the skill positions. You can't double everybody, you can't allocate doubles to everybody, so somebody at times is going to have to hold up in coverage. We've just got to pick and choose when that happens. ... "(Etienne) can really explode. He's got tremendous speed, and for not a real big guy in terms of how some of the running backs are in the league, he runs behind his pads and he'll run through arm tackles in a heart beat. The guy's impressive."
The Jaguars began the design of their offense in the 2021 draft when Trevor Lawrence was selected first overall and Etienne 25th overall out of the same school. The former Clemson teammates set the stage for the offense's rebuild in the post-Blake Bortles era, and General Manager Trent Baalke made good on those investments by adding Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram through free agency.
The Jaguars operate fast and fluidly. They have run the fifth-most offensive plays in football. Etienne has accounted for six breakaway runs this season, fourth in the NFL, and he has evaded 33 tackles this season to rank third in the NFL.
"Tempo isn't just (about) communicating. It's more than that," Kwon Alexander said. "When they run tempo we've just got to communicate and get set and get our hand on the ball, that's really the big thing. For us, we've just been working on communication. We say that everybody just has to be ready for whatever. That's what we're out here practicing for, making sure everybody's under control and knows the play book. We're all ballers. We're all ready to play. We just can't wait for Sunday."
This well-rounded skill corps makes for a complex challenge for Alexander, Austin, and the rest of the Steelers' defense. Jacksonville will enter Acrisure Stadium Sunday on extra rest after playing last Thursday at the Saints. The Jaguars posted just 330 yards of offense but got help from a Foyesade Oluokun pick-six in the third quarter to ballon their lead to 24-9 at the time. The Saints scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24, but a 44-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Kirk with 3:08 remaining gave the Jaguars a 31-24 lead that stood until the final whistle.
The Jaguars also have accounted for 12 explosive pass plays this season, according to STATS. The Steelers' defense has allowed just under 7.0 explosive plays per game. Limiting these opportunities will be massive if the defense wants to put their offense in position to strike for their own big plays.
"They have an unbelievable group of skill position players," Austin said. "We're going to have to play really lights out, we're going to have to do things to affect the quarterback, we're going to have to do things to affect the receivers so they're not running free. We've got to do a better job for us in the run game, we've got to do better. We won (Sunday's) game and we love all that, but we know we have a lot of work to do on defense in terms of being better and being a more consistent group, and that's what we're striving for."
Lawrence led the Jaguars with 59 rushing yards last week, but he popped on Jacksonville's injury report Wednesday as a limited participant with a knee issue. His mobility might be limited, but Austin lauded his growth as a passer this season.
"Really like his skillset," Austin said. "You can see he's a lot more comfortable now. You kind of watch him drop back on some times and throw some outs on a rope. He makes some really good throws, has really good accuracy. He's big and knows when the play breaks down he can escape and create positive plays out of something that doesn't look positive. I think he's really progressing and coming into his own in his third year."
It has become clear that Etienne's emergence has led to more successes for Lawrence and his receivers. The Steelers held the Rams to 354 total yards, but Los Angeles rushed for 135 yards and 4.4 per carry with a contingent of Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman leading the charge. The Steelers have allowed the 10th-most rushing yards in the NFL through seven weeks.
"He's working hard. He's got a lot of talent, that's why he went in the first round," Markus Golden said of Etienne. "He's coming out, he's explosive, he runs hard, can pick up a lot of yards. You've really got to put a body on him, form tackle. He's looking good out there. He's looking good for sure."
The Jaguars have scored 30 or more points in their last two games, and they have posted at least 23 points in each of their last four games. Mitigating a hot offense is not a new challenge to the Steelers, but it's undeniable to say Jacksonville has played as well as any team in the league from an offensive standpoint since the calendar flipped to October.
"Come out and play football, man," Golden said. "You can come out and try to find little details or something like that, but you've got to come out and play. That's doing your job, knowing what you're supposed to be doing on each play, and knowing what you're expecting them to do from studying and watching film all week. Those guys, you've got to give it to them, they've got a lot of play makers out there. Christian Kirk, got a lot of respect for him. I played with him (in Arizona). Evan Engram, I played with him (with the Giants). You've got a lot of athletes out there hat can make plays. We've got to go out there and do our job and make sure we do everything in our power to try to win that game."
