Etienne scores twice, Jaguars end 4-game skid with shutout of woeful Panthers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Travis Etienne scored twice, including one on his longest run of the season, and the Jacksonville Jaguars ended a four-game skid with a 26-0 shutout of the woeful Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The Jaguars (9-7) won for the first time in December — and with quarterback Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) watching from the sideline — to set up a regular-season finale at Tennessee that will help decide the AFC South.

The Panthers (2-14) dropped to 0-9 on the road and were held scoreless for the first time since losing to Atlanta in Week 12 in 2002.

Jacksonville now can clinch the division with a victory next weekend. A loss to the Titans would hand the AFC South to the winner of the Houston-Indianapolis game.

Lawrence missed the game with a sprained throwing shoulder, ending his consecutive starts streak at 51. C.J. Beathard completed 17 of 24 passes for 178 yards in his first start since 2020 and played turnover-free football.

The Jaguars had 10 giveaways in their losing streak.

Etienne finished with 102 yards on the ground, with 62 of them coming on a scoring scamper early in the third quarter. He tied the longest run of his career and became the franchise’s first player since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2009 to notch at least 10 rushing touchdowns in a season.

Tight end Evan Engram and linebacker Josh Allen also had milestone days for Jacksonville.

Bryce Young completed 19 of 32 passes for 112 yards, with an interception. He was sacked six times.

TIGHT END HISTORY

Engram became the eighth tight end in NFL history to catch at least 100 passes in a regular season.

Engram needed two receptions to reach the milestone and reached it before halftime against the Panthers. He finished with six catches for 60 yards.

He joins Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City, 2004), Dallas Clark (Indianapolis, 2009), Jason Witten (Dallas, 2012), Zach Ertz (Philadelphia, 2018), Darren Waller (Las Vegas, 2020), Mark Andrews (Baltimore, 2021) and Travis Kelce (Kansas City, 2018, 2020, 2022) on the list.

SACK RECORD

Jaguars' Allen set the franchise record for single-season sacks with two in the first half. He finished with three for the day. With his second takedown of Young, Allen surpassed the previous mark of 14 ½ set by Calais Campbell in 2017.

Allen now has 44 career sacks, 11 shy of the franchise record held by Tony Brackens (1996-2003).

Allen is in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. The Jaguars are expected to use the franchise tag on Allen in the offseason unless they can sign him to a long-term deal.

CARTED OFF

Panthers linebacker Marquis Haynes, a sixth-year pro who grew up in Jacksonville, sustained a concussion tackling Beathard in the third quarter and was carted off the field after being strapped to a backboard.

Haynes flashed a thumbs-up sign to the crowd as the left the stadium. He was ruled out a few minutes later.

KICKER-LESS PANTHERS

Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro injured a hamstring in pregame warmups and did not play.

Starting linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill handled kickoff duties for Carolina, although interim coach Chris Tabor didn’t ask Grugier-Hill to attempt a 39-yard field goal on the team’s opening drive. Instead, Tabor kept his offense on the field for a fourth-and-7 play in which Young was sacked.

KEY INJURIES

Panthers: C Cade Mays (finger) was ruled out in the second half. ... Pass rusher Brian Burns (knee) and LB Frankie Luvu (bloody nose) returned after missing plays early. ... CB Donte Jackson was evaluated for a concussion and cleared in the first half.

Jaguars: Receiver/returner Jamal Agnew injured his left ankle at the end of a 48-yard catch in the second quarter and was ruled out after halftime. Agnew burned former Jacksonville teammate Shaquill Griffin on the play, but Griffin tackled Agnew by his ankles and caused the issue. Agnew’s injury left the Jags without three of their top four receivers, including Christian Kirk and Zay Jones.

UP NEXT

Panthers: End the season next weekend at home against Tampa Bay.

Jaguars: Play at Tennessee next weekend in a game with postseason implications.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl