The Colts came into Sunday’s game with a clear path to the playoffs, but the Jaguars proved to be a much bigger obstacle than anyone anticipated.
Indianapolis was favored by two touchdowns over a 2-14 Jaguars team, but Jacksonville grabbed the lead on their first drive of the game and never looked back on their way to a 26-11 win over their AFC South foes. The win hasn’t eliminated the Colts yet, but their options will require several other pieces to fall into place after flopping on Sunday.
Both sides of the ball should share the blame for the Colts, but the offense will likely come in for the bigger dose of criticism. Quarterback Carson Wentz lost a fumble and threw an interception in the third quarter that led to 10 Jaguars points and running back Jonathan Taylor was stuffed short of first downs on two fourth down plays. The second of those was on the Jaguars’ one-yard-line early in the fourth quarter.
That play essentially ended the game, but the official final dagger came when Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran for a first down on the final play before the two minute warning. The first overall pick of the 2021 draft had perhaps his best performance of the season by going 23-of-32 for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacksonville’s defense produced six sacks to go with the two takeaways. Josh Allen had a pair of them while Damien Wilson intercepted Wentz after forcing his fumble earlier in the game.
Lawrence and Allen will be key pieces for the incoming head coach to build around. With the Lions winning, the Jaguars will also have the first pick in this year’s draft to go with those players so it was a good day all around for Jacksonville.