To finish off their regular season, the Indianapolis Colts will head south and play in one last divisional matchup vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even with their playoff hopes ended after Week 15, it didn’t stop the Colts from quickly coming out of the gates and dominating the Carolina Panthers in their 38-6 win last Sunday.
Whether it was Nyheim Hines having an all-time performance as a punt returner or the defense having their best success in several weeks, the Colts are looking to bring those factors and then some down to Jacksonville for their final game in 2019.
Here are three key matchups to watch in the Colts’ Week 17 bout:
RB Leonard Fournette vs. Colts’ defensive front seven
As I mentioned in this same piece in Week 11, when these two teams faced off, the Colts would have to put a lot of emphasis on defending running back Leonard Fournette. The LSU product has been the Jaguars’ best offensive player this season and is currently seventh in rushing yards (1,152).
But even with the fact, the Colts successfully contained Fournette in their first matchup (eight carries for 23 rushing yards), it doesn’t mean the Jags could allow that to happen again. Ever since the total number of Fournette’s carries have lowered since Week 11, the Jaguars are 1-4 and struggling to generate much offensive success.
So with an increased chance of Fournette getting much action on Sunday, the Colts’ defensive front seven needs to quickly contain him in order to greater pressure on rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II.