On September 29, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby set a career high with 90 rushing yards on seven carries in a 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans.
The following week, the former Auburn standout did it again, rushing for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Last week, Bigsby gained 24 yards on seven carries in a 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears, despite starting running back Travis Etienne being limited to just three carries due to a hamstring injury. .
On Sunday, Bigsby was on track for a career-high despite running back Delnest Johnson starting alongside Etienne for the Jaguars against the New England Patriots. Bigsby ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in Jacksonville’s 32-16 win in London.
“There aren’t a lot of opportunities here in the National Football League,” Bigsby said.
“I felt like if we kept moving the ball, the Patriots were going to get tired. We’ve just got to keep going, keep going, and I’m going to take those opportunities.” We just did, because the film showed that the fourth quarter was coming, the third quarter was coming, they were going to start doing arm tackles, they were going to start slacking off. When the strategy came, we had to do it. I just did it.”
Bigsby scored on a 1-yard run to end a six-play, 82-yard drive that gave the Jaguars a 14-10 lead with 3:32 left in the first half.
Bigsby scored the final touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 1:41 remaining.
“He did a really good job for us,” Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson said. “He came into the season later than (Etienne), but he earned the right to play, the opportunity. He did a good job today. He ran hard, ran tough, as they say. .”
But that doesn’t mean Bigsby’s three-of-four feat has overtaken Etienne in the Jaguars’ backfield pecking order.
“I believe that injuries are not substitutes for positions,” Pederson said. “I think there has to be fair competition. For us, we’re blessed to have two really good running backs right now, and even if Etienne comes back, he’s just as explosive, he’s the same As good as he is, as powerful as he is, it’s still his job.
“But Tank has done some really good things. He’s a slightly different runner than Etienne, so of course we’re going to continue to find ways to get the ball into his hands.”
Etienne, a 2021 first-round draft pick and 1,000-yard rusher in his first two seasons, has 56 carries for 91 yards and 16 receptions for 230 yards and two touchdowns this season. .
Bigsby, a 2022 third-round draft pick, had 67 carries for 415 yards and four touchdowns and one reception for 28 yards in 2024.
“I’m going to do whatever I have to do to help this team win, whatever my job is, whatever my role is, whatever I have to do, I’m just going to do it to the best of my ability. ” Bigsby said. “Obviously I’m going to take advantage of my opportunities, but I’m just going to go out there and help the team win. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Sunday’s match at Wembley Stadium pitted two teams with records of 1 win and 5 losses.
“This feels like a time of adversity,” Bigsby said. It shows who you can be and who you are. And I feel like today we showed what this team can be like when you’re hitting a wall and going through stuff, so let’s just keep going. ”
After playing two consecutive games Sunday in London, the Jaguars will return to Jacksonville to take on the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 27 at noon CDT.
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Mark Inabinet is a sports reporter with Alabama Media Group. Follow @AMarkG1 on Twitter.
