Jaguars @ Colts
Final Score: Colts 34, Jaguars 27
Writer: Mike Miklius (@SIRL0INofBEEF on Twitter)
Early on, this was a battle between the Jacksonville rushing attack and the Indianapolis passing attack. The Colts seemed helpless in slowing the Jaguars on the ground while the Jaguars, in turn, allowed the Colts to complete as many five-yard passes as they wanted. After three straight punts to open the game, Jacksonville broke through thanks to a 14-yard run by James Robinson, a short pass to Travis Etienne for 22 yards, and a Jamal Agnew run for 19 yards. The Colts answered with a field goal, followed by another Jaconsville touchdown: a 61-yard run by Jamycal Hasty on third-and-one. Indy came back with a touchdown of their own thanks to nine pass attempts by Matt Ryan, including the four-yard touchdown toss to Parris Campbell. The score was 14-13 Jaguars at halftime. Things heated up in the second half with five of the first six drives going for touchdowns. Indianapolis continued to lean on their passing attack while Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence also started to get in on the action. The last touchdown went to Indy, putting them up seven with only seconds remaining. The Jaguars could not respond, and the Colts won this one 34-27.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 20/22, 163 Yards, TD | 6 Carries, 23 Yards, 2 TD
The Jaguars were running so efficiently in the first half that they didn’t need to throw much. This, combined with the effective Indianapolis pass rush, led to Trevor Lawrence having only eight pass attempts at halftime. Lawrence was called upon more in the second half and looked good throwing today. On the team’s second drive out of halftime, Lawrence threw a nice pass to Zay Jones for 14 yards. A couple of plays later, he found Jones again for another first. Lawrence looked accurate and showed good rapport with Jones, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram at different times. While Lawrence was accurate, this is not the volume we are hoping for and the game situation definitely played a role. Still, I like the ability I saw from Lawrence today. I could see him thriving with a better line and more weapons around him. Lawrence had two goalline plunges for his two rushing touchdowns. He is excellent in this role and should continue to steal scores.
Running Back
Travis Etienne Jr.: 10 Carries, 86 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards
James Robinson: 12 Carries, 54 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard
JaMycal Hasty: 3 Carries, 57 Yards, TD
The Jaguars running backs were happy to take turns coming in to make big plays. Travis Etienne was first, breaking free for 48 yards on a first-down run on the team’s first drive. A nice hole opened and Etienne exploded through for a huge gain. Etienne is a speed guy, so it’s great to see holes getting opened for him. The tough part here is that Etienne is not a workhorse, and he relies on breaking a big play each game.
James Robinson was next, and he started the team’s second drive with a 14-yard gain. Robinson made a couple of nice cuts, including one to dodge one of his own linemen. While Etienne has more pop, Robinson strikes me as the better every-down runner. Both ran well today, and both ate into each other’s work. I expect more of the same heading forward. Unfortunately for Robinson, Lawrence vultured two goal-line scores and looked good doing it.
JaMycal Hasty had the biggest run of the day on a third-and-one. On the Jaguars’ third drive, Hasty found a hole on the right side of the line and exploded through. No one was in position deep, and Hasty ran home for 61 yards and the easy score. Hasty was basically silent for the rest of the game and is not on my radar.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Christian Kirk: 1 Carry, 4 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 24 Yards, TD | 1 Fumble (Lost), 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Zay Jones: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 42 Yards
Jamal Agnew: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards | 1 Carry, 19 Yards
Evan Engram: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 40 Yards
Tim Jones: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 20 Yards
Luke Farrell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Christian Kirk was mostly quiet today, recording just one catch in the first half. He was more involved late, including on the one Jaguars passing touchdown. Kirk was left wide open thanks to a great play-action call that drew the defense in. Lawrence found him, giving his team the late 27-26 lead.
Zay Jones had a couple of short catches in the first half and did most of his damage after halftime. On the team’s first drive after the half, Jones made a nice grab and ran hard, splitting two defenders on the way to a 20-yard gain. The next play was a Lawrence touchdown run. Jones recorded catches on the team’s next two drives and seemed like Lawrence’s favorite target on the day.
Evan Engram made some good catches and was actually the most-targeted Jaguars receiver on the day. He had a deep shot that fell incomplete on the team’s first drive of the game.
Indianapolis Colts
Quarterback
Matt Ryan: 42/58, 389 Yards, 3 TD | 1 Carry, -4 Yards
Matt Ryan benefitted from an odd choice by the Jacksonville defense: allow Matt Ryan to complete as many short passes as he wants to for as long as he wants to. Honestly, I was laughing at one point at the endless dink and dunk and the Jaguars’ acceptance that it was happening, and would continue to happen. Ryan was accurate, but he was never challenged much. He just kept quickly hitting guys on slants and screens over and over and over. You might think I’m exaggerating, but 58 pass attempts with an average of fewer than 7 yards per attempt would say otherwise.
Ryan’s best throw on the day was definitely the last one. With Indy in field goal range, the Colts were lined up to run the ball and improve their positioning. The Colts went with play action and Ryan hit Alex Pierce deep for a 32-yard game-winning touchdown. It was a great pass and an equally great catch. Matt Ryan is not having a career resurgence; this was a one-off and smart game-planning against an overwhelmed defense. Just expect the numbers to come back to earth next week.
Running Back
Deon Jackson: 12 Carries, 42 Yards, TD | 10 Targets, 10 Receptions, 79 Yards
Phillip Lindsay: 3 Carries, 7 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 5 Yards
If you started Deon Jackson this week, congrats! Jackson was the frequent target of Matt Ryan’s dump-off parade and piled up ridiculous numbers as a result. Jackson is a good runner, demonstrating power between the tackles on his touchdown run. Jackson was met quickly but powered through until he made it in. Jackson also showed great hands today, catching all ten of his targets and looking smooth doing it. Jackson is an excellent start until Jonathan Taylor returns. Don’t get me wrong though–he won’t be challenging Taylor’s role.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Michael Pittman Jr.: 16 Targets, 13 Receptions, 134 Yards
Parris Campbell: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 57 Yards, TD
Alec Pierce: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 49 Yards, TD
Kylen Granson: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 38 Yards
Jelani Woods: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 27 Yards, TD
Mike Strachan: 2 Targets
Michael Pittman, like Deon Jackson, had a monster day predicated on volume. Pittman was repeatedly breaking free at the line and getting hit on slants for short gains. Pittman never found much space, but he showed good route running and hands to keep hauling in passes. Be aware that Pittman will likely depend on the volume each week as the deep game has been mostly nonexistent for the Colts. Pittman is making it work so far.
Parris Campbell was next in line behind Michael Pittman, and he succeeded in much the same way today. It felt like Campbell was making a catch on almost every one of the Colts’ drives.
Alec Pierce saw a healthy amount of targets, but unfortunately, it felt like they were mostly off-target throws. Pierce was the deep threat today for Indy and the deep ball appeared to be the weakest point of Matt Ryan’s game. Still, Pierce did haul in one long touchdown late. On what looked like a run play, the Colts went play action and Pierce went deep. Ryan hit him with a pinpoint strike–followed by a great catch to secure the win. Pierce seems like he would thrive if paired with a stronger arm–say, Justin Herbert or Josh Allen.