What We Saw: Week 1

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Jaguars @ Colts

Final Score: Jaguars 31, Colts 21

Writer: Brian Hartman (@TooMuch_Brian on Twitter)

In this week one battle in Indy, we knew a few things coming out of 2022: Trevor Lawrence was for real, the Jaguars have the best team in the AFC South, the Colts would struggle with question marks at multiple positions and a rookie QB with limited starting experience. These two teams did not disappoint! From start to finish, it was a hard-fought battle on both sides of the ball. Calvin Ridley looked like his WR1 self in his Jaguars jersey, and Richardson was electric and brought so much energy to a Colts team that has been deflated since the days of Andrew Luck. Turnovers and solid defense ultimately kept this game closer than it should have been through three quarters. If Richardson can stay healthy, the AFC South may have at least two quarterbacks for the future.

Five Up

Calvin Ridley – This guy missed time? Nearly two years, you say? That’s not what I saw. Ridley still has it!
Anthony Richardson – He looked like a young Cam Newton out there; he needs to polish some areas, but what he brings on the ground will crush his Average draft position.
Michael Pittman – Double-digit targets are good regardless of who is throwing the ball
Josh Downs – Average depth of target wasn’t much but was peppered with targets; it was intriguing to watch
Tank Bigsby – So much more work than expected in week one, but he looked to fit into this offensive puzzle well.

Two Down

Christian Kirk – With 4 players receiving more targets, you can’t feel good about Kirk
Colts RBs – This backfield is a mess; if you had to start Deon Jackson, you were not happy.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars offensive for Week 1 pic.twitter.com/vXFRswxlDt

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) September 10, 2023

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence: 24/32 241 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | 7 carries, 21 yards

Lawrence overall did what needed to get it done to finish as a QB1 this week. The first half wasn’t as gorgeous as those locks draped from his head, but the team pulled together and rallied. An immediate connection has been established with Ridley. The first touchdown coming from Lawrence after he showed off his bootleg abilities landed perfectly in the back of the endzone to Ridley. With the madness of the double fumble play and Trevor’s interception, this team did exactly what they did in the playoffs last year: pulled off the comeback and finished the game. He showed that his trust for Zay Jones has not waivered at all, connecting with him on multiple 3rd downs in the second half. He didn’t do much on the ground, but a crucial scramble for 11 yards reminded you that he is capable. I saw a quarterback I’m excited to play each week.

Running Back

Travis Etienne: 18 carries, 77 yards, TD | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 27 yards

Etienne started hot, but it wasn’t long after he was stuffed by this stout Colts front seven. Despite Tank being involved, Etienne was given most opportunities, including his 26-yard run to the end zone. Him being able to show his ability to bounce to the outside and explode through the secondary to find points. With what seems like a typical Doug Peterson offense with multiple backs, Etienne owners should fret yet with him finishing with 80% snaps played.

Notes

He saw a 15.6% target share, the highest mark of his career

Missed Opportunities

Tank Bigsby taking goal line work isn’t a good thing to see, especially in week 1

Tank Bigsby: 7 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 0 reception

Notes

The red zone carries and the ability to capitalize on them is the most exciting takeaway of this game for Bigsby

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Calvin Ridley: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD

Ridley seems to bring nothing but good news out of August, and he showed today that he can be that guy again. It’s been 686 days since he was on the field and it didn’t show one bit. He came in week 1 running over 10 more routes than Kirk, destroying him in the target category. Ridley finished with 7 catches in the first half, so the fact that he was held to 1 reception in the second would be alarming if he hadn’t already secured his top 8 finish for the week. His route-running skills and how he gains separation still make some think he can continue this run with Lawrence. 34% target share is nothing to skim over.

Christian Kirk: 3 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards

Notes

Christian Kirk’s lone catch came five minutes into the game. He was silent for the remainder of the game.
He ran 91% of his snaps out of the slot position today.

Missed Opportunities

His target share from last year.

Zay Jones: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

Zay’s touchdown reception was an absolute thing of beauty. Catch of the year candidate. I don’t think anyone expected him to keep his role in this offense over Kirk. Will be interesting to see how that pans out over the coming weeks.

Notes

Zay seems to be holding onto his target share that he worked for last year. He finished the game with more route runs than Kirk and was often looked at by Lawrence in big-time situations.

This catch by Zay Jones is unreal 😧
pic.twitter.com/dbI66PpxNF

— PFF (@PFF) September 10, 2023

Evan Engram: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 49 yards

We didn’t get a huge day from Engram, but the big takeaway is that he caught all five targets. As a guy known for his drops, he pulled them all in, including a high pinpointed ball that he snagged over the Colt’s defender.

Indianapolis Colts

Colts Week 1 offense pic.twitter.com/hD92yT0w2u

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) September 10, 2023

Quarterback

Anthony Richardson: 24/37 223 yards, TD, INT | 10 carries 40 yards TD

The days of old, where a stone statue stands behind the Colts’ offensive line and gets destroyed, are over. Instead, we see someone standing there that looks like he’s straight out of a comic book. His decision-making still seems to lean on his running skills, so we rarely see him take deep shots down the field. This will be the downfall for Alec Pierce in most situations. Richardson showed his faith in relying heavily on Pittman. Richardson’s most exciting play was most likely his rising TD when he decided to keep the ball and push into the endzone. He broke a couple of tackles and while it was fun to watch, the times he got up holding something were scary. Richardson will have to learn to utilize the sidelines or slide because I can’t see his body (no matter how big) holding up through an entire season. He was shaken up late in the game so monitor this over the course of the week.

Missed Opportunities

He couldn’t finish the drive late in the fourth because he was pulled off to look at his leg.

Gardner Minshew: 0/2 0 yards

Quick fill-in for the final Redzone drive.

Running Back

Deon Jackson: 13 carries 14 yards | 6 targets 5 receptions 14 yards

Deon was, without a doubt, THE guy today. He had a 72% snap share and had 81% of the RB share. It means nothing with what he did with it. With Jackson waking away with only 28 yards on 18 touches, it reminds me of the summer debate on Twitter about fans thinking they could gain 10 yards on four downs in an NFL game. Both of which are just gross to watch. The one bright side was that he saw a 15.4% target share.

Missed Opportunities

Anytime he touched the ball.

Evan Hull: 1 carry, 1 yard | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

Hull injured his knee early in this game and did not return.

Jake Funk: 2 carries 10 yards | 1 target 1 reception 12 yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Michael Pittman: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 97 yards, TD

This guy was so fun to watch today. With Richardson not throwing the ball deep, Pittman showed off his skills running after the catch today. Forty of Ninty-seven yards were after the catch. Pittman’s stellar thirty-nine-yard TD reception helped cap off a great fantasy day for the fourth-year wide receiver.

Notes