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Jacksonville Jaguars blocking on Travis Etienne TD highlights perfect day
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- Jacksonville Jaguars blocking on Travis Etienne TD highlights perfect day
The sudden-change takeaway provided the Jacksonville Jaguars with ideal field position to take control of their game against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 7.
And the offense thanked the defense on the very next play.
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Running back Travis Etienne 's 28-yard touchdown — he wasn't touched — upped the Jaguars ' lead to 14 points in an eventual 36-19 win .
"That was great," center Robert Hainsey said.
Count all of the things that were great about the play.
Right guard Patrick Mekari pulled right to seal out defensive end Kwity Paye . … Right tackle Anton Harrison down-blocked defensive tackle Grover Stewart. … Tight end Brenton Strange sealed out linebacker Germaine Pratt . … Receiver Tim Patrick walled off cornerback Jaylon Jones . … Hainsey blocked safety Nick Cross downfield. … And Etienne made a cut inside and then cut outside to score.
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And now the analysis …
Hainsey: "It was actually the same play we scored against the ( Los Angeles ) Chargers (in Week 11) so we've gotten a lot of work on it. Everybody did a great job. I was trying to sort things out (downfield) because people were everywhere, but I was looking for the safety (Cross) and then he cut off his linebacker."
Harrison: "We had to trust each other. I had to come down to block Grover and the big guys had to get downfield and then Etienne did what Etienne does."
Strange: "My responsibility was to go to the first linebacker I see and I tried to put him on skates."
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to throw in the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Here are 10 more thoughts about the Jaguars' win over Indianapolis:
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1. Ideal game-starter
Linebacker Foye Oluokun said the Colts' tendency was a play-action pass on one of their first two plays. Against the Jaguars, it was Indianapolis' first play. Quarterback Daniel Jones tried to throw quickly to receiver Michael Pittman , but linebacker Devin Lloyd made the interception.
MORE FROM O'HALLORAN: Another rout shows Jaguars will roll to AFC South title
"He was on it," Oluokun said. "Athleticism, caught it, beautiful."
Said safety Eric Murray: "We had been talking all week about starting fast and taking the fight to them. There was no better start."
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It was the Jaguars' second opening-drive takeaway this season (Week 10 at Houston ).
The Jaguars made it 7-0 four plays later on Etienne's 3-yard touchdown run.
2. Lawrence vs. blitz
The Colts rushed at least five players on 12 of quarterback Trevor Lawrence 's 31 drop-backs.
Lawrence was 4 of 6 for 46 yards against a five-man rush, 2 of 4 for 46 yards against a six-man rush and 0 of 1 against a seven-man rush. Included were completions of 26 yards to Patrick and 16 and 30 yards to receiver Brian Thomas, Jr.
Lawrence's best play of the game was when he was flushed left out of the pocket and threw an across-his-body dart to Patrick for 26.
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3. Still best stopping run
The Jaguars' defense remains first against the run.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor needed 21 carries to gain 74 yards (3.5-yard average), the first individual back to gain at least 70 yards against the Jaguars this season.
The key?
"Just playing gap sound and everybody doing their job and not trying to overdo it," said defensive end Travon Walker , who stuffed Taylor for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Jaguars' 44 with 1:45 left in the second quarter.
How good is the Jaguars' rush defense? They rank first at 82.9 yards per game and the next-closest team is Denver at 89.0.
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4. First safety since 2018
Aided by coach Liam Coen's challenge, the Jaguars scored a safety on defensive end Josh Hines-Allen 's sack of quarterback Riley Leonard . It was the Jaguars' first safety since linebacker Leon Jacobs ' end-zone tackle in the 30-9 debacle/embarrassment/loss at Tennessee in 2018 (low-lighted by Derrick Henry 's 99-yard touchdown run).
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) records a sack for a safety during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Colts 36-19. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
On first down from the Colts' 9, Hines-Allen started the play in a two-point stance at right end. After a feeble chip-block attempt by tight end Tyler Warren , Hines-Allen darted inside in a twist with defensive tackle Arik Armstead . Left guard Quentin Nelson was late to react/caught off balance and Hines-Allen ran through him to sack Leonard in 3.78 seconds.
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Hines-Allen's second-half-of-the-season surge continued; he has at least one sack in four consecutive games.
5. Meyers as a runner
Entering the game, receiver Jakobi Meyers had 11 career rushing attempts in 102 regular-season games (one with the Jaguars). But he ran three jet sweeps — in which he ran in motion before receiving the hand-off — for 9 yards.
Meyers' updated career rushing totals: Fifteen carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
6. Departing early
Lawrence has sat out 18 snaps in blowout wins over the Chargers, Tennessee and Indianapolis.
Against the Colts, 19 players on the Jaguars' defense played at least 15 snaps and 14 offensive players logged at least 16 snaps.
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Just getting a few plays off will help down the stretch.
7. Fines from Titans game
On Saturday, the NFL announced six fines from the Jaguars-Tennessee game.
Jaguars:Punter Logan Cooke $15,555 (leg whip), long snapper Ross Matiscik $7,111 (pulling player off pile), right tackle Anton Harrison $11,593 (taunting) and safety Andrew Wingard $11,593 (stepping on opponent).
Titans:Safety Mike Brown $6,111 (facemask) and defensive end Arden Key $11,593 (facemask).
8. Big favorite vs. Jets
Las Vegas has taken notice of the Jaguars.
The Jaguars were installed as an 11 1/2-point favorite over the New York Jets (who may start rookie Brady Cook at quarterback).
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If that holds, it would be the Jaguars' biggest favorite status since Dec. 23, 2007, when they were a 14-point favorite over the Raiders (won 49-11). In franchise history, the Jaguars have been a favorite of at least 11 points only 10 times (9-1 straight-up, 5-5 against the spread).
The loss was 21-14 to Houston on Oct. 27, 2002, as an 11-point favorite.
9. Numbers of note
The Jaguars' 28 first-half points were a season-high, tied for third-most in franchise history and most since their 45-7 win over Houston in December 2017 . … The Jaguars' 10 games with at least 25 points this year are the most in a season in franchise history. … The defense rushed at least five players on 10 of the Colts' 43 drop-backs. … The Jaguars' average starting position was their 41-yard line, best of the season. … Meyers and Thomas led the Jaguars' skill players with 53 snaps apiece (out of 64). ... Coen is 4-2 on challenges this season.
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10. Ups and downs
Ups: Thomas had catches of 16, 30 and 39 yards . … Hines-Allen had one sack, knockdown and pressure apiece per The Times-Union's game charting. … The Jaguars didn't allow a sack for the fourth time this season (4-0 record).
Downs:The run game had season-high 11 "bad" plays (gain of less than 2 yards not counting short-yardage); the previous high was 10 against Las Vegas. … Rookie Bhayshul Tuten fumbled a kickoff (the Jaguars recovered) and a handoff (the Colts recovered). … The Jaguars had their first multi-drop game since Las Vegas in Week 10; Patrick and Meyers had drops. … The offense had three false start penalties (Mekari, Strange and Patrick).
Contact O'Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars' blocking set up Travis Etienne untouched TD run
