![Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to handoff to running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) during the second quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jaguars held off the Las Vegas Raiders 27-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]Jki 110622 Raiders Jags Cp 144](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/448d46fae5cce059932123e1ed44bc65e32e1a54d859d7cd4c97cd5b36e18263.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to handoff to running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) during the second quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jaguars held off the Las Vegas Raiders 27-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]Jki 110622 Raiders Jags Cp 144")
Running back Travis Etienne, Jr.
Running back Travis Etienne’s debut season was well worth the wait for Jacksonville fans.
After the Jaguars traded former lead running back James Robinson to the New York Jets, the doors opened wide for Etienne. The former Clemson Tiger missed his first season due to injury but has been better than advertised for the Jaguars. He is currently riding a three-game streak of 100+ rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. The shifty back leads the league with 25 missed tackles forced since Week 7, including 13 against the Raiders.
RB Travis Etienne
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) November 9, 2022
Three straight games with 100+ yards rushing (and a TD).
Short-area acceleration. Vision. Run to daylight in zone schemes. pic.twitter.com/S2tpUJ5ti0
The Chiefs are very fortunate to have linebacker Willie Gay back to help counter Etienne’s playmaking. But the Chiefs still field one of the league’s worst tackling defenses. Missed tackles have been the bane of this defense and kept the Titans in the game last week. While the Chiefs usually have three or four ugly games on defense each year, they will have to flip the script against a running back who can make things ugly with a lot of touches.
If quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggles against the Chiefs secondary, they will only lean on Etienne even more. If the Chiefs turn Etienne into a volume running back, they have won that matchup. Etienne needed 28 rushing attempts to gain 109 yards against the Raiders, good for 3.9 yards per rush. That average is tolerable for this Chiefs defense. But if Etienne hits some home runs, then that spells doom for this Kansas City defense.